Taikang Shenzhen Financial Education Publicity Week Kicks Off, Lawyer Explains Legal Red Lines on Proxy Policy Surrenders and Illegal Fundraising
On September 11, Taikang Life Insurance Shenzhen Branch, together with Taikang Pension and Taikang Online, participated in the launch event of Shenzhen's 2026 Financial Education Publicity Week at Happy Harbor. Ferris wheel cabins were transformed into a "cloud-based financial classroom," the coastal market set up fun quiz challenges, and senior executives answered questions on site about "how to understand insurance" and "staying away from the risks of agency surrender." On the surface, this event was about financial literacy, but behind it lies a serious legal proposition: when illegal financial activities wrap themselves in the guise of "rights protection" and "surrender," how can ordinary citizens identify legal traps, and what compliance bottom lines should financial institutions hold?
Criminal Risks of Agency Surrender: More Than Just "Helping Defend Rights"
At the event, Taikang executives specifically warned against the risks of "agent-assisted surrender" — and this is no overreaction. In recent years, Shenzhen and the Pearl River Delta region have seen a surge of intermediaries advertising "full refunds" and "professional rights protection," recruiting insurance clients through social platforms, charging hefty fees, and then coaching customers to fabricate evidence of sales misconduct and repeatedly file complaints against insurers.
From the perspective of legal practice, such conduct may cross multiple legal red lines. First, if an agency that handles policy surrenders fabricates facts and forges evidence to file malicious complaints with an insurance company or a regulatory authority in order to fraudulently obtain surrender proceeds or compensation, it may constitute the crime of fraud as provided in Article 266 of the Criminal Law. Second, if in the process the agency obtains sensitive customer information such as ID cards, insurance policies, and bank cards, and illegally collects, buys, sells, or uses it, it may violate the crime of infringing on citizens' personal information under Article 253A of the Criminal Law. Third, if the agency, in the name of "rights protection," incites customers to gather crowds and cause disturbances, disrupting the business order of financial institutions, it may also involve public security or criminal penalties such as picking quarrels and provoking trouble.
For consumers, entrusting such intermediaries is equally high-risk. Once an intermediary absconds with the funds, consumers not only lose the service fees but may also be blacklisted by insurance companies for cooperating in forging evidence, and could even be held jointly liable for legal violations. Article 131 of the Insurance Law explicitly prohibits insurance agents from deceiving policyholders. Although this article directly binds insurance institution personnel, in judicial practice, consumers who actively participate in fraud may likewise bear corresponding legal consequences.
The boundaries of identifying illegal fundraising: The legal characterization behind high-yield promises.
Another key focus of Financial Education Week is preventing illegal financial activities. At the event, activities such as spin-the-wheel quizzes and light shows were used to teach the public about the tricks of illegal fundraising. As a lawyer, it is necessary to clarify from the perspective of legal elements: what kind of behavior constitutes illegal fundraising?
According to Article 2 of the Regulations on the Prevention and Handling of Illegal Fundraising, illegal fundraising refers to the act of absorbing funds from unspecified persons without the lawful permission of the financial management department of the State Council or in violation of national financial management regulations, by promising repayment of principal and interest or other investment returns. In practice, illegal fundraising often appears under the names of "wealth management," "elderly care projects," "virtual currency," "pre-IPO shares," and so on. Its core features include: no permission, public promotion, promised returns, and absorbing funds from unspecified persons.
It is worth noting that the Amendment (XI) to the Criminal Law, which took effect in 2021, significantly increased the penalties for the crime of illegally absorbing public deposits, with a maximum sentence of fifteen years' imprisonment; the crime of fund-raising fraud carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. As a city with active financial innovation and a dense concentration of private equity and wealth management companies, Shenzhen residents should verify an institution's qualifications through the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, the official website of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the National Financial Regulatory Administration before participating in any investment, and must not readily believe rhetoric promising "guaranteed principal with high returns."
For financial institutions, conducting business in compliance is also a legal obligation. The Measures for the Administration of Consumer Rights Protection by Banking and Insurance Institutions require banking and insurance institutions to establish a consumer rights protection review mechanism and conduct consumer protection reviews of their products and services. Taikang's emphasis during the event on "shouldering the primary responsibility for protecting the rights and interests of financial consumers" is precisely a response to this regulatory requirement.
Personal Information Security: High-Frequency Legal Risk Points in Financial Scenarios
The quiz segment at the event featured questions specifically on personal information security, striking at a key pain point in today's financial consumer landscape. When applying for insurance, filing claims, or surrendering policies, consumers must provide large amounts of sensitive personal information, including ID numbers, home addresses, health conditions, and bank account details. Once such information is leaked or misused, the consequences go far beyond nuisance calls.
Article 10 of the Personal Information Protection Law stipulates that no organization or individual may illegally collect, use, process, or transmit another person's personal information, and may not illegally buy, sell, provide, or publicly disclose another person's personal information. As personal information processors, financial institutions must follow the principles of lawfulness, legitimacy, necessity, and good faith, and must not collect excessive information. At the same time, Article 66 of the Personal Information Protection Law sets severe penalties: for illegal processing of personal information under serious circumstances, a fine of up to 50 million yuan or up to 5% of the previous year's turnover may be imposed, and the relevant business may be ordered to be suspended or its business license revoked.
When representing financial consumer disputes, lawyers have found that many insurance surrender intermediaries exploit consumers' insensitivity to the scope of personal information authorization by inducing them to sign full-power-of-attorney agreements, thereby abusing their information. Consumers should develop the habit of regularly checking their personal credit reports, and if they find unusual inquiry records or unfamiliar loan records, they should promptly report them to the People's Bank of China or public security authorities.
Financial Consumer Rights Protection Pathways: The Right Approach Recommended by Lawyers
If consumers genuinely believe that insurance sales are misleading, or encounter financial consumption disputes, what is the correct path to defend their rights?
Step 1: Preserve the evidence. Keep original materials such as the insurance policy contract, insurance application notice, receipt, and sales communication records (WeChat messages, text messages, audio recordings). Step 2: File a written complaint with the financial institution's head office customer service or consumer protection department and request a response within a specified time limit. Step 3: If you are dissatisfied with the handling result, you may complain to the Shenzhen Regulatory Bureau of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, or apply to the Shenzhen Insurance Consumer Rights Service Center for mediation. Step 4: If the amount involved is relatively large or the legal relationship is complex, you may entrust a professional lawyer to resolve it through litigation or arbitration.
It is particularly important to note that during the rights protection process, one should never readily trust promises such as "guaranteed refunds" or "internal connections." Legitimate rights protection does not require forging evidence, nor does it require paying high "service fees" to third parties. Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm has long handled financial consumer disputes and insurance controversies. Its team of lawyers is familiar with Shenzhen's financial regulatory environment and judicial standards, and can provide legal services including compliance review, dispute resolution, and criminal risk prevention for consumers and financial institutions.
The significance of Financial Education Promotion Week lies not only in a one-night Ferris wheel light show, but also in turning legal knowledge into the everyday judgment of citizens. For financial institutions, consumer protection compliance is not a promotional slogan, but a mandatory obligation set by regulations such as the Measures for the Administration of Consumer Rights Protection by Banking and Insurance Institutions; for citizens, the best way to stay away from illegal financial activities is to know where the legal boundaries lie, and who to turn to and how to seek help when problems arise.
