Man Scams 63 Hotels Using ‘Dirty Condoms, Dead Cockroaches’ for Free Stays and Compensation

A 21-year-old man in China has been arrested for executing a plan to scam hotels and extort money and free stays through blackmail. Known by his surname Jiang, the man allegedly used a variety of tactics to complain about hotel conditions, demanding compensation after staging unsanitary situations in his rooms.

How the Scam Worked

Jiang's scheme involved checking into hotels, where he would plant items such as cicadas, dead cockroaches, used condoms, and strands of hair to create the illusion of poor hygiene. He would then lodge complaints about the unsanitary conditions and threaten hotels with online exposure or formal complaints unless they provided him with free accommodations or financial compensation.

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), Jiang frequently stayed at hotels, sometimes visiting three or four different establishments in a single day. "Over a span of 10 months, Jiang frequently stayed at hotels, sometimes checking into three or four different ones in a single day. He would exploit minor flaws or plant insects, bugs, and hair to threaten hotels with complaints or online exposure, demanding free stays or compensation,” a police officer from Linhai, Zhejiang, revealed.

How He Was Caught

Jiang’s scam remained successful until one hotel finally reported him to the authorities. The hotel, which had been extorted by Jiang for compensation, noticed a pattern after receiving repeated complaints from the same customer. An anonymous source from one of the hotels told SCMP, “His complaints about supposed bugs and hair in the rooms were alarming. Upon discussing these incidents with several other hotels, we noticed a recurring pattern with this guest.”

A preliminary investigation revealed that Jiang had used 23 different packets containing items to stage his scams. After his arrest, further investigations showed that Jiang had scammed over 300 hotels, successfully extorting 63 of them for a total of $5,200 since last year.