Ah, but consumer protection and quick resolutions if one transacts with a turkey on Amazon marketplace is rather different compared to having a problem with ctrip, especially if one encounters the problem in China during real-time travel where alternatives may be few and/or painful.

I'm not sure only stupid people fall for scams, but for discussion's sake let's say that rather uncharitable thought is true. My perspective tends to a different direction: why should Ctrip, a (formerly) respected upright company, even be hosting scams at all? People purchasing through Ctrip only see that name, not whatever faceless dumbsquat travel agency behind it, that is using the platform. So I'd definitely say that Ctrip has a problem here, now a PR problem as well as an operational control problem.