A new report from CCTV News has exposed a used phone buyback scam built around unusually high trade-in offers. The scheme starts with ads promising far better prices for secondhand smartphones than normal offline recyclers would pay. But once the victim sends in the phone, the offer drops sharply, and the seller may be pressured with a large inspection charge if they ask for the device back.
One case involved a man surnamed Li from Heze, Shandong. He saw a short-video ad claiming high prices for used phone recycling. A phone that local physical recycling shops would value at up to about 1,000 yuan was allegedly quoted at 2,000 yuan by the advertiser, so Li added the WeChat account of a secondhand phone recycling studio in Juancheng.
After a short conversation, Li shipped his phone to the studio. But when the business inspected the device, it claimed the phone had problems and was not worth the promised 2,000 yuan. Instead, the studio reduced the offer to only 150 yuan.
Li did not want to sell at that price and asked the studio to return the phone. At that point, the other side allegedly demanded a 980 yuan phone inspection fee, saying the device would not be returned unless the fee was paid.
Facing that pressure, Li eventually sold the phone for 150 yuan. Afterward, he became increasingly frustrated with the outcome and contacted the local market supervision department using the receiving address provided by the business.
Regulators later found that the after-sales address supplied by the studio was fake. They also received many requests for help from people in other regions, with the same basic pattern: a high-price recycling offer, a sharp price cut after the phone was received, and then an inspection-fee threat when the owner wanted the phone returned.
Because the cases appeared to go beyond a normal consumer dispute, the market supervision department transferred the clues to police. Investigators then reviewed the reports and found that, although the receiving addresses varied, the method used in the cases was highly consistent.
Police traced the after-sales phone number and eventually arrested 12 suspects led by a person surnamed Huang. Authorities say they dismantled the fraud studio behind the operation.
According to the original report, the group’s activity covered victims across China, and more than a thousand people were allegedly tricked. The gang resold the phones it obtained to secondhand dealers and illegally earned more than 800,000 yuan in total.
For consumers, the case is a reminder to be careful with buyback offers that look far above market value. A legitimate phone recycler should make inspection rules, return policies, and any possible fees clear before the device is shipped. If a buyer suddenly cuts the price and then demands money to return the phone, that is a major warning sign of secondhand phone fraud.
