According to reports (by reporter Liu Artemis), some merchants often ask citizens to leave their identity information with their employees when they hold outdoor events or promotions. If these data are not properly managed, it could cause trouble for oneself. Miss Chen and Miss Peng had their identities misused by others in this way, becoming the "owners" of multiple credit cards without reason, bearing 110,000 yuan of "card debt". Recently, the Nanhai Court sentenced bank employee Zhou Youyong to five and a half years in prison for credit card fraud.
Case:
Stealing Customer Information for Excessive Spending
Bank employee Zhou Youyong was only 26 years old at the time of the incident. In November 2008, she was assigned by her unit to promote credit cards at Oriental Plaza. During the event, she took the opportunity to secretly photograph Miss Chen's ID card, driver's license, and other information with her mobile phone while Miss Chen applied for a credit card. She then found someone to forge these documents and used them to apply for credit cards under Miss Chen's name at multiple banks. Later, she signed Miss Chen's name and made numerous purchases using the above-mentioned credit cards between January and July of last year, withdrawing a total of 39,000 yuan RMB.
In December of that year, while helping Miss Peng apply for a bank credit card, Zhou Youyong privately kept copies of Miss Peng's identity information. She then applied for multiple credit cards under Miss Peng's name at several banks and AEON Consulting Services Co., Ltd. Between January and June of last year, she forged Miss Peng's signature and used these credit cards multiple times for purchases and cash withdrawals totaling more than 71,000 yuan RMB. Among these, the police confiscated a notebook computer purchased with the overdrawn funds from Zhou Youyong.
Court Verdict:
Voluntary Guilty Plea Results in Five and a Half Years Sentence
The court found that Zhou Youyong exceeded the credit limit by over 110,000 yuan RMB and did not return the money after repeated reminders from the bank, leading to her arrest by the police. Recently, the Nanhai District Court ruled in the first trial that Zhou Youyong, with the intent of illegal possession, had defrauded credit cards using others' identity certificates and maliciously overdrawn them, constituting a large amount of credit card fraud.
Given that Zhou Youyong voluntarily confessed to her crimes, the court decided to impose a lighter sentence, sentencing her to five and a half years in prison and a fine of 50,000 yuan.
Expert Perspective:
No Civil Liability for Misuse of ID Cards
Buying a house, applying for a card, checking into hotels, or going online—nowadays, almost everything seems to require an ID card. Handing over ID card copies without any precautions makes it easy for criminals to take advantage of the situation. The police reminded citizens to clearly note the purpose on the copy, which would help verify handwriting and determine responsibility in case of unexpected incidents.
"Our ID card is our most important certification symbol; it carries too many functions and adds too many responsibilities," said Wang Xuetang, a well-known legal scholar in Foshan. He pointed out that the "Resident Identity Card Law" only stipulates the inspection rights of the People's Police over resident identity cards, and no other organization or individual has such authority. Therefore, the current practice of many merchants requiring citizens to present their ID cards when handling business has no legal basis.
Wang Xuetang also mentioned that many people believe that if citizens lose their ID cards and they are misused, they will bear the corresponding civil liabilities and consequences. This is actually a misunderstanding of the law.