Li Juan, a 26-year-old woman from Lixin county, East China's Anhui province, became an overnight sensation after the story of her being mauled by a dog while trying to save a child from the same fate hit the Internet. People were so moved by her brave deed, they voluntarily donated a total of 800,000 yuan ($126,000) for her medical fees. However, a follow-up investigation turned the whole story upside down: The heroine was in fact a fake.

According to her boyfriend, who confessed earlier this week, Li was bitten while feeding his dogs. This unexpected change of situation naturally triggered a flood of criticism and condemnation.

And this is not an isolated incident, there have been many other occasions when ill-intentioned people have sought to take advantage of people's kindness for their own gain. For example, after the fatal explosions in Tianjin port in August, people donated 90,000 yuan to a man who falsely claimed that his father died in the blasts. He was later arrested for fraud when the police caught him in the lie. In another a man claimed to be helping disadvantaged children, when in fact his charity efforts were just a cover for his abusing them.