"I find it very weird that the scammers can be out in the open while the victims have to hide in shame. That logic does not sit well with me. By showing my face, I hope it encourages more people to speak up." - Adrian Tan
"Scammers rely on three things: infrastructure, trust, and greed. You lower your guard because you are brought over by someone you know—an ex-colleague, family member, or even a pastor. The ultimate hook is greed; the promise to turn $50,000 into a million dollars is a return you cannot get in any legal setting." - Adrian Tan
"The grand narrative is that this is a secret government initiative to bring back overseas Chinese to Nanning. They legitimize the scheme by linking it to the Belt and Road Initiative and ASEAN developments, creating targeted groups for Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan." - Adrian Tan
The Nanning scheme in Guangxi, China, reported to be the "1040 Sunshine Project", recruited overseas Chinese, including Singaporeans, to buy in for between S$26,000 and S$50,000, with returns of up to 10.4 million yuan.
In September 2026, 52 Singaporeans were detained in Guangxi over suspected pyramid scheme offences. No official count of how many people paid in has been released.
What can creators learn from this?
In this episode of BRAVE Creators, Adrian Tan was invited to join the scheme in 2018 and after a few days, decided to walk away. He wrote of his experiences then, and when the news caught wind of this in 2026, his post went viral. Where everyone else hid their faces, he stood up and spoke openly about it to make sure others don't fall for this.
He joins Edric Poon to talk about why he spoke out, why he still won't name names, what the scheme's marketing got right, how his YouTube Q&A rode the wave to monetisation, how years of blogging made him Mr HR Tech, and why AI won't hurt creators who have something to say.
Adrian Tan is a marketer, author, podcaster and content creator. He founded Marketing Sumo, where he provides fractional marketing leadership to B2B HR tech companies.
He hosts The Adrian Tan Show, a solo podcast sharing his take on current affairs, and hosts and produces other podcasts alongside guest appearances. Through newsletters, video and social media, he brings candid observations and humour to conversations about work and everyday life.
Adrian is the author of the Amazon Singapore bestseller 'No More Bosses: The Journey to Sustainable Self-Employment'. He began his entrepreneurial career by co-founding an award-winning recruitment business. He is a father of four.
Adrian’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriantanck/
Website: https://www.adriantan.com.sg/
