● In recent years, with the rapid development of the Internet economy, online virtual accounts and property such as game equipment, social accounts, and short video accounts have become an important part of people's lives. A virtual account with a large number of fans often brings more attention and recommendation opportunities, so it is worth a lot, and the behavior of buying and selling virtual accounts is not uncommon

● Many virtual account transactions are completed outside of third-party trading platforms, that is, direct payment transactions between users, resulting in mixed account transactions and difficult protection of buyers' rights and interests. Many respondents said that after purchasing an account and using it for a period of time, some accounts were banned or their passwords were changed and they could not log in, and they often had to admit that they were unlucky

● Some virtual accounts are prohibited from buying and selling due to the platform user agreement, or the transaction is restricted by laws and regulations, and if such virtual accounts are bought and sold, the contract may be invalid. At the same time, the transaction of virtual account may also constitute a criminal offense. If the virtual account seller sells the account and the buyer uses it to engage in fraud and other criminal activities, the seller is likely to constitute the crime of aiding information network criminal activities

□ reporter Han Dandong

□ Intern Zhao Yujia

"Is there any charge for the ×× number above 3000 powder, the automatic delivery platform is safe and secure" "A large number of ×× live broadcast new number, 1000 powder 50 step price, know how to come"... In a social group called "dy and KS", every newcomer to the group receives this message. The group owner and group administrator spare no effort to sell online virtual accounts in the group.

After joining the group recently, the reporter of "Rule of Law Daily" communicated with the group owner on the grounds of buying a short video account with a certain number of fans. Open the "purchase link" sent by the group owner to see the introduction and price of new and old accounts with various followers.

In recent years, with the rapid development of the Internet economy, online virtual accounts and property such as game equipment, social accounts, and short video accounts have become an important part of people's lives. A virtual account with a large number of fans often brings more attention and recommendation opportunities, so it is worth a lot, and the behavior of buying and selling virtual accounts is not uncommon.

However, the reporter's investigation found that because many platforms have made it clear that the initial application registrant of a virtual account only has the right to use the account, and cannot transfer the account through leasing, selling, etc., resulting in many virtual accounts leaving the trading platform for private transactions, and all kinds of chaos are everywhere.

Account trading is mixed

It is difficult to protect the rights and interests of buyers

A short video practitioner told reporters that after years of operation and development, the short video platform currently has a huge number of users and e-commerce, and it is very difficult to "start from scratch" to attract fans and stand out. Therefore, taking over accounts that have accumulated a certain number of fans is a shortcut, because these accounts are supported by a certain amount of traffic from the beginning.

In addition to the number of fans, the level of some accounts is also an important factor in assessing their value, such as the higher the level of the avatar in the game account, the higher the value. One interviewee said that in some live broadcast rooms, high-level accounts ranked high, which would give streamers and other fans a high look, so some people wanted to buy a high-level account directly.

However, many platforms do not allow the buying and selling of online virtual accounts.

For example, a well-known game company clearly states in the service agreement that the game account shall not be provided to others for use in any way, including but not limited to transfer, rental, borrowing, etc. for commercial use including but not limited to live broadcasting, recording, playing and training. Otherwise, the company has the right to restrict or prohibit the use of all or part of the functions of the game account, delete the game account and game data and other related information, ban or even cancel the account.

A well-known short video platform clearly stated in the user service agreement: it is forbidden to donate, borrow, rent, transfer, sell or otherwise license others to use the account in any form. Another community platform stipulates that without the written consent of the platform, the right to use the account shall not be disposed of in any form, including but not limited to gift, lending, transferring, selling, mortgage, inheriting, or licensing others to use it.

Therefore, many virtual account transactions are completed outside the third-party trading platform, that is, direct payment transactions between users, resulting in mixed account transactions and difficult protection of the rights and interests of buyers. Many respondents said that after purchasing an account and using it for a period of time, some accounts were banned or their passwords were changed and they could not log in, and they often had to admit that they were unlucky.

A game account seller told reporters that many game accounts have "self-drawn" and "initial numbers", these accounts are registered and used in batches, and then resold to individual users, "when selling accounts, I will tell the buyer, log in to the account to confirm that the content is correct, and modify the binding email and password as soon as possible." Because the relevant information is also in the hands of the seller, if it is not modified, some bad sellers may use this to "retrieve the account".

Xiao Huang, a game enthusiast from Tianjin, encountered such a thing - the day after buying a game account, he was forced to log in to the game, showing that the account was logged in remotely, and when he tried to log in again, the account password had been modified.

Xiaohuang hurriedly asked the seller for explanation, and the other party said that because the buyer did not change the password in time after the account was sold, the system background sold the account twice. Subsequently, the other party sent Xiaohuang a new account. "If the seller doesn't recognize it, there's nothing I can do."

In fact, even if the password is changed in time, some sold accounts may be "recovered" by the seller through the information at the time of initial registration. In April this year, a game account trading platform "recovery" incident worth 4,60 yuan attracted attention, because the seller "sold and recovered" the account, and after the recovery behavior was discovered, there was no intention to take the initiative to settle, the buyer had to call the police.

Similar incidents and even fraud cases caused by the purchase and sale of virtual accounts have been reported frequently. In 2022, the Ouhai District Bureau of the Wenzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau successfully destroyed a game fraud gang, arrested 35 criminal suspects, connected 183 fraud cases across the country, and recovered 118.<> million yuan in stolen goods.

Rental and sale accounts are risky

Criminal liability may apply

"I have 800 points, 600+ credit points, open up contacts, and earn some small money together..." In online forums or social groups, there are many similar information about purchase, rent and payment platform accounts, and the publisher claims to exploit the loopholes of the policy and "wool together".

The reporter contacted one of the publishers, and the other party said that the rental payment platform account would pay the corresponding rent according to the account reputation points, and the amount would be hundreds to thousands of yuan, and there was no cap.

Why does the other party rent a payment platform account? Some victims told reporters that they used credit points to lease items such as shared charging treasures and did not return them, and used credit functions to shop and borrow money, "Because account providers are bound to their own identity information, platforms and apps will only find the registrants of these accounts when they are held accountable, and they become 'scapegoats'." ”

The victim told reporters that most of the people who lent the payment platform accounts were young people who were strapped for money and did not know the world.

Many cases are also suggesting that renting a payment platform account is very risky. "Qingyuan Public Security" released news that in the first half of 2022, in order to make "quick money", the man Huang did not hesitate to rent out his account on a payment platform, and even took the initiative to contact recruiters to provide transfer money laundering for telecommunications network fraud, so as to obtain "commissions", and finally went to prison. By the time of the case, Huang had helped recruits transfer more than 100 million yuan and illegally made tens of thousands of yuan.

Zhu Jie, a senior partner at Tahota (Chongqing) Law Firm, told reporters that the rental of payment accounts is illegal. In addition to the crimes of aiding trust and infringing on personal information, there are many legal risks in renting or buying and selling payment accounts. The rental and sale of payment accounts may provide tools for crimes such as telecommunications fraud, money laundering, tax evasion, and bribery, and help criminals transfer funds. The Measures for the Administration of Bank Card Business stipulate that bank cards and their accounts can only be used by the cardholder himself with the approval of the card-issuing bank, and may not be leased or subleased. Therefore, renting or selling payment accounts, especially if the account is bound to a bank card, may be suspected of the crime of obstructing credit card management, which violates financial management laws and regulations, and may bear civil and criminal liability in addition to being fined.

Article 31 of the Anti-Telecommunications Network Fraud Law stipulates that no unit or individual may illegally buy, sell, lease, or lend telephone cards, Internet of Things cards, telecommunications lines, SMS ports, bank accounts, payment accounts, Internet accounts, etc., and must not provide real-name verification assistance; Do not pretend to be the identity of others or create fictitious agency relationships to open the above cards, accounts, accounts, etc.

Zhu Jie said that the public should properly keep all kinds of virtual accounts of themselves, and payment accounts, because of the transaction payment function, if they are bought and sold or transferred, will bring great harm. Therefore, such accounts can only be used by the person and rent, lend, sold and purchased are strictly prohibited. At the same time, the security measures provided by the service provider should be used, such as account should be subject to real-name authentication, SMS verification, regular and irregular password changes, password protection, and special character passwords, so as to avoid account loss and theft.

"If e-commerce platforms, social platforms, Moments of Friends, etc. are found to have illegal or criminal acts such as renting, buying and selling bank cards, and payment accounts, they should promptly report to the public security organs." Zhu Jie said that because this kind of behavior not only infringes on the order of social management and financial management, but also may lead to the leakage or improper use of citizens' personal information.

Establish the concept of safe use

Do not trade accounts illegally

In addition to payment accounts, are the transactions of other virtual accounts such as game accounts legal?

In this regard, Liu Junhai, a professor at the Law School of Chinese Minmin University, believes that online virtual accounts cannot be illegally bought and sold, but can only be inherited or transferred in accordance with the procedures prescribed by law, and relevant information needs to be open and transparent. At the same time, it is necessary to establish the concept of safe use and adhere to the principles of application, safe use and orderly circulation according to law.

Zhu Jie believes that whether buying and selling virtual accounts is legal needs to be discussed according to the specific circumstances of the account. In practice, many game equipment has a certain economic value due to its scarcity and the investment of players' time, energy and technology, and many people make a living by "selling equipment for money". If the virtual account is only based on special conditions such as game equipment and levels, it is largely in compliance with the law. Article 465 of the Civil Code stipulates that contracts established in accordance with law are protected by law.

"As long as the sales contract of the virtual account does not violate the mandatory provisions of laws and regulations on validity, such transactions should be protected by law." Zhu Jie said, but this kind of account transaction also has certain performance risks. In practice, many sellers sell their accounts and then retrieve their accounts and change their passwords through real-name authentication, resulting in buyers losing money and not obtaining the right to use the account. At the same time, the transaction of virtual accounts is usually carried out online, and the trading platform is not standardized, and it is often difficult for buyers to protect their rights. Therefore, buyers need to be very cautious when buying and selling virtual accounts.

Zhu Jie said that some virtual accounts are prohibited from buying and selling due to the platform user agreement, or the laws and regulations restrict transactions, and if such virtual accounts are bought and sold, the contract may be invalid. In practice, there is often a case where the seller's social account has been operating for a long time, adding many precise customers, and the buyer purchased the social account in order to promote its products, and a dispute occurred. The court held that because the social account stored a large amount of personal information and data, and the purchase and sale of the social account also bought and sold the personal information of others, because the personal information was protected by law, the sales contract violated the law and violated the legal rights of a third party, resulting in the contract being invalid.

At the same time, the transaction of virtual account may also constitute a criminal offense. "If the virtual account seller sells the account and the buyer uses it to engage in fraud and other criminal activities, the seller is likely to constitute the crime of aiding information network criminal activities." Zhu Jie said.

Liu Junhai suggested that the rental account should be avoided as much as possible, as the lessee's illegal behavior may lead to the lessor's external liability, and it is usually difficult for the lessor to obtain recovery from the user. It is necessary to apply for and use one's own trading accounts in an orderly manner in accordance with the law, protect the relevant account passwords, and promptly reject the request for apps that excessively request user permissions when registering an account. Account users must not only have a sense of rights, but also have a sense of self-protection and responsibility to ensure that online virtual accounts can better play their role, rather than becoming a place for dirt and dirt, violations and crimes.