As early as 2024, the CCTV program "Financial Investigation" reported on the chaos of modified " scales" in farmers' markets, which use cheating chips and algorithms to tamper with the data displayed on the screen. Two years later, according to recent whistleblower information, "illegal scales have reappeared in the market. Their usage scenarios have shifted from sporadic short-weighing in farmers' markets to fields such as scrap recycling, gold recycling, and bulk commodity weighing transactions. The cheating methods have become more concealed, with production at the source and offline sales closely linked. CCTV exposes the reappearance of "illegal scales" in the market; "remotecontrolled cheating electronic scales" are openly sold online with values that can be remotely controlled. Consumers reported to the "Financial Investigation" program that they encountered "illegal scales" in transactions at some scrap stations and precious metal recycling centers, resulting in short-weighing and varying degrees of economic losses. When the reporter added keywords such as "scrap recycling" and "gold" before "electronic scale" in the search bar, a large number of electronic scale products appeared on the search page, marked with supplementary descriptions like "remote control," "private customization "seven-gear adjustable," and "equipped with ABCD handles." In fact, these products are exactly the "illegal scales" capable of remotely controlling the weighing values! A blogger "Electronic Scale Dahui Wolf Prevention and Control Device" has posted most of his videos revealing various market fraud methods involving remote-controlled electronic scales to netizens, warning them to guard against similar scams However, this is just a smokescreen to evade online supervision. Once private chats begin, the blogger no longer hides his modification and sale of "illegal scales"! The long- "Scale Capital" Yongkang secretly sells "illegal scales," doing business only with acquaintances and privately installing cheating chips. As the core region of the national electronic scale industry, Yong produces over 10 million electronic weighing scales annually, accounting for more than 70% of the national market share, and is a mature cluster for the electronic weighing scale industry. local told the reporter that the "illegal scale" industry generally only does business with acquaintances; they will not respond to inquiries from unknown customers. Through the introduction of this local, the found a shop named "Xinying Weighing Instruments" in the market. The staff were very familiar with the cheating methods of "illegal scales" and promised that as long as money was paid, "illegal scales" could be purchased from them. They also skillfully opened the back cover of an electronic scale display to explain the modification method of "illegal scales.

The core secret to turning a regular, qualified electronic scale into an "illegal scale" is the installation of mysterious additional chip. This chip can receive instructions from a remote control to tamper with the electronic scale's displayed data by a certain proportion, thereby achieving the effect of "short-" customers. This modification method is identical to the techniques of modifying and using "illegal scales" in farmers' markets reported by "Financial Investigation" in 2024 Both use the algorithms of cheating chips to tamper with the displayed data on the screen. Such cheating methods were also exposed on this year's "3.15" Gala, chips were used in electric bicycle modifications, allowing vehicles to actually speed while the screen only displayed a compliant speed of 25 kilometers per hour. When the reporter, posing as scrap recycling practitioner, proposed purchasing the electronic scale cheating chip and remote control separately from the merchant, the merchant was extremely vigilant. He explicitly stated that the government has been cracking down severely "illegal scales" in recent years, insisting that no face-to-face transactions could be made and that items could only be sent via logistics. It was not just thisXinying Weighing Instrument" shop; the reporter's visits revealed that within the same market, another shop named "Dayang Weighing Instrument" was also secretly selling its modified "electronic scales". This merchant also used various excuses to suggest that the reporter pay offline and receive the goods online. "Illegal truck scales" manipulate weight, generating a price of tens of thousands of yuan per transaction The reporter arrived in Ganzhou, a key logistics node connecting East and South China, where a large amount of bulk goods are distributed. scales that weigh and settle in tons can generate a price difference of tens of thousands of yuan in a single transaction if tampered with. The emergence of "illegal truck scales" disrupts market even more than "illegal scales" used in small-value transactions. The reporter went to the local Gannan Trade Plaza. After searching for several days, he finally encountered a secretly operating "illegal truck scale" modifications on a street far away from the main weighing instrument area. The merchant knew that selling "illegal truck scales" was illegal, but driven profit, he quoted a modification price of 3,600 yuan. During the conversation, the shop's salesperson told the reporter that engaging in this kind of business highly risky. According to their past habits, they generally only sell to scrap recycling practitioners with obvious appearance and demeanor characteristics to avoid undercover reporters or law enforcement personnel. However, through the's continuous efforts, the merchant eventually agreed to let the reporter watch the modification of the truck scale on-site the next day. The salesperson demonstrated the use of the " truck scale" to the reporter. By switching between the four A, B, C, and D buttons on the remote control, one could easily achieve a quick switch of adding,, or zeroing the weight value on the truck scale's display screen. The salesperson told the reporter that many customers come to him to buy "illegal truck scales", bringing a considerable income.

Specialized "illegal scales" for gold: A one-gram deviation means huge losses Reporters learned that theillegal scales" currently selling for the highest profit on the market are a type of small precision gram scale specifically designed for weighing precious metals like gold and silver during recycling. Due to the current market for precious metals like gold, the illegal profits generated by these "precision illegal scales" are far higher than those from ordinary "illegal scales". Spending 788 yuan a second-hand trading platform, the reporter easily purchased a precision gram scale equipped with a special chip. Based on the shipping information, the reporter found a merchant specializing in modifying precision "illegal scales" located near the Jinsangzi Farmers' Market in Wanzhou, Chongqing. However, the owner of this shop first feigned ignorance and used a heavy to warn his wife to be wary of the stranger in front of them. The reporter remained calm and continued to chat with the couple, gradually putting them at ease. Eventually, the quoted a price of 1,200 yuan and agreed to sell the reporter a "precision illegal scale". The owner told the reporter that gold is different from ordinary goods; using cheating involves large sums of money and serious illegal nature, with a much higher risk of breaking the law than ordinary "illegal scales", hence the higher selling price. The owner also told the reporter they generally do not sell "illegal scales" in their physical store, but only supply online shops that sell "illegal scales". They take orders, modify, and ship the goods, but do directly participate in the sales process. At this point, the reporter had uncovered the complete distribution channel of "illegal scales": online order taking, offline modification, and logistics transportation. CCTV the complete industrial chain of "illegal scales": A remote control factory turns out to be a den for cheating chips The core secret of why a compliant fair scale is modified into anillegal scale" that cheats consumers lies in the cheating chip installed inside, which is also the most critical illegal link in the entire industrial chain. However, the operators of "illegal scales on the market are tight-lipped about the sourcing channels of the chips. On a certain second-hand trading platform, the reporter discovered an account named "Remote Control Factory". product images posted by the account were highly similar in appearance to the mysterious remote control chips used in "illegal scales", and the cryptic phrase "suspected for use with truck scales" the page caught the reporter's attention. All products posted by this account were combinations of chips and remote controls, and they did not sell scales. Posing as a recycling industry, the reporter proposed sending their own fair scale to the other party for modification, thereby obtaining the other party's exact address. After the modification was completed, the merchant proposed a video call the reporter to teach them how to operate the "illegal scale". The reporter took the initiative, using the excuse of not wanting to reveal their own address to suggest going directly to thes factory to pick up the goods and learn how to operate it in person. After careful consideration, the merchant finally agreed.

Entering the factory named "Dongguan Chuangguangke Electronic Technology Co., Ltd.", the reporter saw the open space filled with boxes of various sizes. These boxes bore no trademarks or brand logos, but inside were various models of remote controls and a large number of green circuit boards of unknown specific use. In room, the reporter saw workers busily assembling remote control shells with the green circuit boards. The company's person in charge introduced to the reporter that their company mainly engages in legitimate business of producing ordinary remote controls, but also participates in the manufacturing of cheating chips within the industrial chain of "illegal scales". The company's downstream customers are generally divided into types: · One type is shops that modify "illegal scales", which purchase "plug-and-play" cheating chips and matching remote controls directly from the company; · other type is customers with special cheating requirements, who possess the code files of the cheating program themselves. They only purchase unprogrammed blank circuit boards, take them back to burn the cheating into them, and then install them into the electronic scales. The person in charge also told the reporter that there is no technical threshold for modifying "illegal scales", and there are many on the internet, it is just difficult for outsiders to identify them. Thus far, a complete industrial chain of "illegal scales" has come to light. From writing cheating programs and/manufacturing cheating chips, to offline modification of electronic scales and covert online sales, each link has a clear division of labor and is closely interconnected. It is highly concealed, posing a huge challenge to market supervision. (Outlook New Era)