Illegal websites could steal info

Illegal websites claiming to check ID card numbers could lead to identity theft, tech experts told the Global Times Tuesday. Beijing police seem to be clueless about the issue.

The websites operate by asking users to type in their ID card number and name, and claim to verify users' identities based on matching information and photos. The sites ask for a five yuan fee via online banking or text messages.

A center operating under the Ministry of Public Security used to offer the service to individuals to verify their cards' authenticity, but the official service was cancelled amid fears of identity theft, said Zhao Jiangtao, a lawyer with Beijing Excel Law Firm.

These services were rarely seen while the ministry operated its own website, however, many companies have now seen a potential for profit, which means more risk to personal information, Zhao said.

If the ministry has not provided access to their database to the newer websites which have sprung up, there could be many negative effects, said Li Jiaming, director of the Internet Illegal Information Reporting Centre under the Internet Society of China.

"The websites offering these services are illegal operations which will probably lead to crime involving the trafficking of personal information," Li told the Global Times Tuesday.

"They could be run by con artists benefiting from the money people pay for ID checking, residents should take care when using them," he added.

Li also warned that the information entered in the website could be passed on later to criminals who forge ID cards.

Some Beijing residents have complained about the profit-based websites and questioned their legality, according to a Beijing News report Tuesday.

The police were divided in their response to the illegal websites and do not seem to be handling the matter. A police officer with the 110 emergency center under the Municipal Public Security Bureau confirmed to the Beijing News that all of the charging identity confirmation websites are illegal.

However, a fellow officer with the center told the Global Times that they had never heard of the sites, and had not dealt with complaints from Beijing residents.

"An individual's information is registered with the public security authorities. There is no way anyone else can access our database," she said.

The id5.cn website which has a collaboration with the government to offer an ID checking service, claims that they only offer services for corporations and not individual residents.

"Our data is all from the ministry's center," said a hotline operator with the website. However, their company cooperates with several other websites which offer the same service for a price, but they do not know if all of their partners are authorized or not, she added.

A Global Times reporter tested an illegal website successfully using her own ID card, and returned to the 110 officer. The officer suggested that the reporter could go to a local police sta¬tion and wait for a response.

The ministry's service was available in 2006 for residents to check the authenticity of their ID cards according to the Beijing Morning Post.

"The government really needs to take this seriously or else more people's privacy and property will be in danger," Zhao added.