In order to chase "stars", some fans go to the airport to pick them up and drop them off so that they can take close-up photos and get in touch with the stars. Some criminals saw so-called "business opportunities" and illegally obtained and sold celebrities' flight itineraries, ID numbers and other citizens' personal information to make profits. Recently, Shanghai has handled two related cases. Four defendants were sentenced for committing the crime of infringing on citizensâ personal information.
At the end of 2023, the Shanghai Jing'an police discovered that someone was selling celebrities' flight itineraries and other citizens' personal information on online social platforms based on preliminary investigations. After a series of investigations, in January 2024, the police arrested Yin and Wu in Shanghai, and Lian and Guo in Shenyang, Liaoning. In March 2024, the police transferred four defendants in two cases to the Shanghai Jing'an District People's Procuratorate for review and prosecution on suspicion of infringing on citizens' personal information. Investigators found that the celebrity ID numbers, flight itineraries and other information sold by the defendant were surprisingly wide-ranging.
Zhang Lanyu, assistant prosecutor of the People's Procuratorate of Jing'an District, Shanghai: It includes thousands to tens of thousands of celebrity identity information, mobile phone numbers, and flight itinerary information.
The defendants in the two cases sold celebrity flight information to fans in need on online social platforms for prices ranging from 5 yuan to 10 yuan per message. The celebrity ID numbers in their hands are bought in bulk from the previous company for tens of yuan and then sold individually.
Zheng Yi, Prosecutor of the People's Procuratorate of Jing'an District, Shanghai: Once this (flight) information is sold, it may allow others to know your whereabouts, which may pose a threat to personal safety.
Judicial appraisal:
The defendant Yin provided and sold more than 10,000 pieces of celebrity flight itinerary information to others, earning more than 23,000 yuan in illegal income. The defendant Wu sold more than 2,000 pieces of celebrity flight itinerary information to others, earning more than 7,000 yuan in illegal income. .
The defendants Lian and Guo jointly sold more than 2,000 celebrity ID numbers and flight information, earning more than 12,000 yuan in illegal income.
In the end, the four defendants were sentenced to 3 years in prison, suspended from 3 years to 6 months in prison, and suspended for 1 year, respectively, and were fined for the crime of infringing on citizens' personal information.
Buying and selling information through Internet platforms Airline loopholes were exploited
During the review and handling of the case, the procuratorate also found that purchasing directly on the Internet and making inquiries using airline loopholes were the main ways for the defendants to illegally obtain star flight information.
On some Internet platforms, there is a large amount of sales and purchase information about celebrity flight itineraries. These information use obscure words, symbols, and icons, such as teacup icons plus airplane icons or hb letters instead. It was in places like this that the four defendants searched for purchase information from previous stores, and then made bulk transactions to people in need through WeChat. In addition, there is also a considerable part of flight information that the defendant used the purchased celebrity ID number to directly check on the official website of the airline.
Zheng Yi, Prosecutor of the People's Procuratorate of Jing'an District, Shanghai: The original design was actually to facilitate passengers to check their flight information, but it was later exploited by some criminals. While handling the case, we noticed that many airlines have noticed this problem, so adjustments have been made to the management or system improvement of this query system, and system improvements have been made.
At the same time, prosecutors specifically reminded that purchasing citizensâ personal information is illegal.
Zheng Yi, prosecutor of the People's Procuratorate of Jing'an District, Shanghai: There are many people who chase their own stars and want to know some of their situations. They buy this information through such unfair channels, which provides the soil for some people with ulterior motives. People see benefits from this, and then take desperate risks and violate the law to do this.
Regarding the upstream and downstream industrial chains involved in the case, the public security organs are currently conducting further in-depth investigations.
editor/Zhou Chao
