Fake Viagra case puts spotlight on Net crime

A man surnamed Ding never imagined he would suffer sexual dysfunction after taking what was claimed to be Viagra, which he bought from an online shop.

Ding reported the store on Taobao.com to police, the Shanghai Public Security Bureau said yesterday.

In one of an increasing number of cases involving online crime, police found the store was selling fake Viagra and weight loss pills. More than 50,000 products worth 300,000 yuan (US$48,039) had been sold when the police raided the store's warehouse in suburban Fengxian District, police said. Seven suspects were detained.

"Online shopping fraud has increased in the past few years and many victims were indifferent as the loss they incurred was little, which just encouraged these operators to continue," said Zhu Futian, a director of Fengxian District police. "Whatever the loss is, we want online shoppers to tell us about these suspicious stores."

The fake Viagra case was one of 954 online criminal cases solved by Shanghai police this year. The cases included pyramid selling, illegal money raising, gambling, prostitution, libel and selling personal information. Of these cases, 1,788 suspects have been detained, said the Internet safety corps of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau.

In another major case, an online gang of 52 was nabbed for organizing gambling across China. The case involves more than 70 billion yuan.

Qu Weifang, chief engineer of the cops, said the online gambling gang first caught police attention in April.

"The suspects set up servers in Southeast Asia and worked as agents for the dealers there," Qu said. "The group developed quickly in China and had become a three-level pyramid structured gambling agency."

The gang mostly was involved in betting on soccer matches and baccarat.