A teenager from Shanghai has been sentenced to six years in prison after exploiting a refund loophole on an online cosmetics platform, earning more than $570,000 through fraudulent returns.
The 17-year-old, identified as Lu, discovered that the site required customers to enter a tracking number to process refunds but did not verify whether the return shipments were real. He took advantage of the flaw by submitting fake tracking numbers for thousands of orders without sending any products back.
Authorities said Lu placed nearly 11,900 orders, obtaining cosmetics worth about 4.76 million yuan and reselling them on second-hand platforms. He ultimately made around 4.01 million yuan in profit, which he spent on designer clothing, new smartphones, and gifts for friends.
The scheme was uncovered after the company noticed irregularities in its return system and reported the issue to police. Lu was arrested in March 2024, and a Shanghai court sentenced him in July 2025. Due to his age at the time of the crimes, the court issued a reduced sentence, as similar cases typically carry longer prison terms.