A Chinese man bored with his daily life recently got detained for posting a “wanted order” in his name on social media and bragging about the countless crimes he had allegedly committed.

Can you imagine being so bored that you start posting made-up crimes online and posting as a criminal mastermind, hoping to get some kind of attention? That’s exactly what a man from northern China did last month, taking to social media to spread lies about himself, including that he had recently extorted 30 million yuan ($4million) from a company, that he owned a firearm and ammunition, and challenging people to find him if they wanted a 30,000 yuan ($4,000) reward. His post went viral, but it also caught the attention of Chinese law enforcement monitoring social media, and he ended up behind bars for his unusual stunt.

“I am a native of Qinyuan county, Changzhi city, Shanxi province. I extorted 30 million yuan (US$4 million) from a company on November 10, 2024,” the man claimed in his post. “I possess a submachine gun and 500 bullets. If you find me, you will be rewarded 30,000 yuan (US$4,000).”

Just a day after “ratting himself out” for crimes he never committed, the man surnamed Wang got a visit from Chinese police wanting to know if he was as dangerous as he claimed. His house was thoroughly searched and he was detained, but officers couldn’t find any kind of firearm or dangerous weapons, and his claim about extorting sums from a company he had worked for proved false as well.

Wang told police that he was sorry for misleading them and explained that he had simply been simply bored and had acted out of frustration. Unfortunately, authorities considered that the harm had been done and opted to charge him with intentionally disseminating false information and causing social disruption.

According to Chinese news outlets, by the time Wang was detained, his video had gotten 350,000 views, 2,459 likes, 799 favorites, and 80 comments.