Accidentally, I became the "bait" for wine touts
Hangzhou netizen "Unwilling to Grow Up" is very upset. Accidentally, she became the "bait" used by wine touts to attract men who pay the bill.
Born in 1987, she called our newspaper's hotline yesterday and said that she had been lurking in a QQ group for two months with the purpose of proving her judgment. The truth made her very sad; she really did become the "bait" for wine touts. They use the name of QQ group activities, claiming that handsome men and beautiful women meet by chance. Women generally don't have to pay money, while men do, and the organizers secretly receive high kickbacks from the bar.
The group leader said that when going out to play, girls don't have to pay money
Two months ago, a stranger named "Xiao Ling" actively invited "Unwilling to Grow Up" on QQ to join a QQ group called "Drunken Lights Hangzhou Group 7."
"I thought since I've joined quite a few groups, one more wouldn't matter, so I just joined," said "Unwilling to Grow Up." After joining, she found this was a "friend-making gathering QQ group," where netizens often went to bars together.
"Xiao Ling" said that girls don't need to spend money, as it's all covered by the men under an AA system. Even if no men go, "Xiao Ling" would cover the costs. However, this situation rarely occurs because whenever there are women, there will be men who want to play too.
Men attending group activities are all attracted by the women
"Unwilling to Grow Up" participated in an activity once. The event was from 9 PM to 2 AM the next day. It was also during that time that she met the real-life "Xiao Ling."
"Xiao Ling" is very young, heavily made-up, and quite good-looking. She led me into a bar on Wenyi Road, and she was familiar with the bar's waiters." That night, more than 30 people, including "Unwilling to Grow Up," were arranged in a designated "section." Once everyone was seated, "Xiao Ling" began mixing drinks, pouring them, introducing everyone, and collecting money from the men.
"Unwilling to Grow Up" felt something wasn't right; the taste of the alcohol was off, and the looks in the men's eyes were also strange. "Xiao Ling's" behavior was even more suspicious: "Judging from her clothing and familiarity with the bar, she is likely a tout."
"That time, most participants were men, about 20 or more. Their gazes were somewhat lustful. I later learned that the men willing to pay to attend these events were all attracted by the women. The reason why women could play for free is because we are 'Xiao Ling's bait for fishing.'"
Lurking for two months, exposing the tricks of wine touts
Unwilling to be used as "bait" without reason, originally planning to leave the group angrily, "Unwilling to Grow Up" changed her mind and continued to lurk in this QQ group for two months, summarizing the commonly used tricks of wine touts.
"These friend-making groups are usually advanced groups with around 200 people. Netizens will mark 'male' or 'female' before the group name. There are more male netizens." "Unwilling to Grow Up" asked friends to join other "Drunken Lights" groups and found that the group leaders were all "Xiao Ling." The messages sent in each group also followed a fixed format: Hello, Hangzhou large-scale friend-making gathering QQ group, × number week × evening × point × × bar, meeting in drunken lights, fees male AA female free, many beauties, many handsome men.
"After sending the messages in the group, they would send mass text messages, group emails, and private chats, appearing particularly enthusiastic. The activities were frequent, mostly in fixed 3 to 4 bars. Concentrated around Wensan Road, and new girls would occasionally appear in the group, posting tempting photos, making the atmosphere in the group very ambiguous."
Receiving kickbacks through QQ group activities has become an open secret
Long-time bar-goer A Chao told reporters that receiving kickbacks from merchants through group activities has already become an open secret. "It's easy to attract young people to participate in activities organized through QQ groups, which has great commercial value. Some group organizers will actively negotiate kickbacks with merchants, while others are specifically hired by bars to build QQ groups to attract business."
A Chao said that being such a wine tout is very profitable and carries low risk: "Generally, they can get about 20% kickback, because it's stipulated how much each person should pay. Any extra cost after each consumption will also go into the pocket of the wine tout. Compared to the old wine tout methods, it's basically impossible for anyone to accuse them of fraud, and there's no evidence." This new type of wine tout is called "group tout" within the industry.
"The group touts deceive those who have ill intentions, whether it's for free play or finding opportunities to invite girls," said A Chao: "As long as one has ill intentions, it's easy to fall victim."