Behind the harassment of new parents by sales calls: More than 20,000 pieces of newborn information were sold

　　Why new parents are frequently harassed by sales calls:

　　More than 26,000 pieces of newborn information were trafficked

　　"Hello, is this Ms. Gu? We are a children's photography store near your home. We have customized a 100-day baby package for you. Now we have a great discount..." In February 2023, I lived in New Taipei City, Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province. Ms. Gu from the district was still immersed in the joy of becoming a mother for the first time, and she frequently received various sales calls introducing newborn photography packages and promoting newborn products...

　　What made her feel uneasy was that the other party actually accurately grasped the child's birth hospital, date of birth, gender, parents' names, phone numbers and other important information. Out of concern for protecting her children and family, she immediately reported the case to the public security organ.

　　After receiving the report, the New Taipei District Public Security Bureau immediately launched an investigation. Through telephone tracking, the public security agency found out that a children's photography store in the jurisdiction purchased birth information of newborns to promote photography business to parents of newborns. On the computer of the photography shop, the public security agency seized more than a thousand pieces of newborn information on the spot. According to Li, the person in charge of the photography store, this information was purchased from peers in industry chat groups.

　　Subsequently, the public security organs followed the lead and finally captured the "mastermind" Li Guang (pseudonym) who was selling newborn information and his subordinates Lu Liang (pseudonym), Liu Qiang (pseudonym) and others. At this point, a black industry chain for selling newborn information has emerged.

　　On February 21, 2023, the public security agency filed a criminal case against Li Guang and three others for infringing on citizens’ personal information. Due to the large number of victims involved and the wide impact, the case was eventually supervised by the Ministry of Public Security.

　　Li Guang dropped out of school very early due to his long-term addiction to the Internet. In order to make ends meet, Li Guang worked as a network administrator in an Internet cafe and gradually mastered a large number of hacking techniques. In October 2022, Li Guang learned through friends that maternal and infant stores, children's photography stores, etc. have great demand for newborn information. Accurate newborn information can not only help stores find customers in time, but also increase profits. After learning the news, Li Guang, who was strapped for money, set his sights on a newborn information website. After Li Guang invaded the website through hacking technology, he screened out newborn birth information that met the needs of the children's photography store and downloaded it, which mainly included information such as the gender of the newborn and the phone number of the parents.

　　Under normal circumstances, illegally sold citizen personal information is sold for only a few cents per piece, but the newborn information stolen by Li Guang can be sold for a high price ranging from 11 yuan to 15 yuan per piece due to its reliable source and accurate content. After mastering this technology, Li Guang published information online and widely advertised that he had a large amount of newborn information in his hands. He was looking for partners, so he contacted Lu Liang.

　　Lu Liang runs a children's photography agency in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. He has known Liu Qiang, his counterpart in Dalian, Liaoning Province, for a long time. The two usually search for newborn information on the Internet to find target customers. After seeing Li Guang's recruitment information, the three hit it off and agreed that Li Guang would be responsible for stealing the newborn information. Lv Liang and Liu Qiang used their advantages in the industry to act as "second-rate dealers" and sell the newborn information stolen by Li Guang to Photography agency. The three quickly established a stable external sales channel, and despite the high price, they were still selling well.

　　After investigation, from October 2022 to February 2023, Li Guang used hacking technology to invade a newborn information website and stole 26,663 pieces of newborn information. Lu Liang and Liu Qiang acted as Li Guang’s downlines and illegally stole Li Guang’s information. of newborn information is sold to children's photography agencies across the country. As of the incident, the three people had made a total profit of more than 300,000 yuan by selling newborn information.

　　In March 2023, the public security organs invited prosecutors from the New Taipei District People's Procuratorate to intervene in accordance with the law. In the face of the evidence, Li Guang finally admitted his criminal behavior.

　　In May 2023, the case was transferred to the New Taipei District People's Procuratorate for review and prosecution. On June 29 of the same year, the court filed a criminal incidental civil public interest lawsuit against the defendants Li Guang, Lu Liang, and Liu Qiang for the crime of infringing on citizens' personal information. The court ultimately adopted the prosecution’s sentencing recommendations and supported all claims for accompanying civil public interest litigation.

　　In August of the same year, after a public prosecution by the New Taipei District People's Procuratorate, Li Guang and three other people who leaked the newborn's information were sentenced by the court to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from three years and four months to three years for the crime of infringing on citizens' personal information, and each was also fined 21 Prices range from 10,000 yuan to 80,000 yuan.

　　In addition, Li Guang and three other people also paid 370,000 yuan in civil compensation and publicly apologized in provincial media. Recently, Li and others who purchased newborn information and used it for photo studio promotion were further investigated by the public security organs on suspicion of other crimes.

　　In order to prevent the newborn information from being leaked again, the New Taipei District People's Procuratorate also cooperated with the public security organs to destroy all seized newborn information. At the same time, in response to the loopholes in the network platform discovered during the case handling, the hospital promptly notified a Zhejiang technology company responsible for website development, issued a risk warning letter, and recommended that the technology company promptly repair technical loopholes, eliminate security risks, and guide users The medical unit of this website regularly updates the account and password to ensure the security of newborn information. A few days ago, the company responded to a letter from the procuratorate, stating that it had screened and repaired system vulnerabilities, added mandatory verification codes, restricted or closed system export functions, optimized system query verification and other functions to effectively ensure the security of newborn information.

　　Korean writer Li Chao, reporter of China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily Source: China Youth Daily