The China Consumer Association issued a consumer reminder today (13th), noting that in recent years, the "Gaming Circle" market has shown strong development momentum, alongside problems such as inducing minors to engage in impulsive consumption, lack of regulation in private domain trades, difficulties for victims in seeking rights protection, and fraud by criminals taking advantage of the situation, urging minors to consume responsibly and be wary of consumer traps.

The so-called "Gamers" is a transliteration from the English word "Goods," referring to peripheral products related to copyright works such as comics, animations, games, and idols. The act of purchasing these products is called "consuming gaming," and those who buy "Gamers" gather to communicate and share, forming the "Gaming Circle."

It is reported that most members of the "Gaming Circle" purchase "Gamers" through second-hand or social platforms, via overseas purchasing or factory custom orders. Minors, subject to payment restrictions, choose to trade through social platforms and other private domains, where the platforms cannot monitor transactions throughout. If they encounter situations such as operators failing to ship on time, incorrect goods upon receipt, or purchasing agents absconding with funds, it is very difficult for victims to recover their losses.

"Gaming" trade rules are complex, and criminals often lure minors with tactics such as free giveaways, low-priced benefits, and high-price acquisitions, then threaten and intimidate them with reasons such as non-compliance in receiving items, minors not being allowed to purchase, or failure to pay a certification fee, demanding that minors operate their parents' mobile phones to cooperate with investigations, taking the opportunity to steal parents' bank card account information and funds.

The China Consumer Association calls for online platforms to strengthen their principal responsibilities, and for relevant regulatory departments to severely crack down on illegal and regulatory behaviors existing in the "Gaming Circle." Parents should correctly guide and educate teenagers on the reasonable use of the internet, and if they are threatened or discover that they have been scammed, they should promptly inform their parents or report to the police.