A computer used to run an online store, which was never connected to any foreign devices, was implanted with a Trojan virus, resulting in the theft of a large number of customer transaction information. After the Haimen District Procuratorate initiated a public prosecution, the court recently sentenced 10 people, including defendants Wang and Su, to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from four years and six months to one year and three months for the crime of illegally obtaining computer information system data; sentenced defendant Lin to three years in prison with a suspended sentence of three years and six months for the crime of providing intrusion and illegal control of computer information system programs and tools; and sentenced defendant Zhao to three years in prison with a suspended sentence of three years and six months for the crime of infringing on citizens' personal information; and all 12 defendants were fined concurrently and all their illegal gains confiscated.
In November 2022, Mr. Li, who runs a home textile store on an online platform, received complaints from several customers, saying that they had received several fraudulent phone calls, and the fraudsters claimed to be the customer service of Mr. Li's store, and were able to accurately state the items purchased by the customers and the delivery address. Mr. Li immediately called the police, and after investigation, the public security organs found that Mr. Li's computer had been maliciously implanted with a Trojan virus, and the Trojan virus was sent through WeChat.
It turned out that the criminals disguised the Trojan virus as shopping information and sent it to Mr. Li, and after Mr. Li clicked on it, the computer was remotely controlled by the criminals. Criminals can arbitrarily steal the customer's transaction information cached in the computer without Mr. Li noticing. The public security organs then followed the vine and locked up 4 people, Wang, Yang, Chen, and Zhu, and arrested 4 people in February 2023.
After investigation, Wang and other 4 people were friends. By chance, Wang learned that someone on the Internet bought the cache files of an online shopping platform store at a high price. Wang, who had opened an Internet company, knew that this behavior might be suspected of a crime, but he still did not resist the temptation of high returns and began to study how to obtain the cache files of the online store.
Wang first purchased a Trojan virus from Lin that could remotely control other people's computers, and then arranged for Yang and three others to chat with the merchant on the short video platform by pretending to be a customer, and disguising the Trojan virus as a shopping list and sending it to the merchant through WeChat. After the merchant's computer was infected with a Trojan virus, Wang used remote control software to illegally obtain the cache files in the merchant's computer, and then sold these files through overseas software. In just over two months, Wang and four others illegally made profits of more than 6 million yuan.
At the same time, Wang shared this way of "making money" with Su, who was far away in Changsha City, Hunan Province. Su entrusted his friend Yuan, who was proficient in computer technology, to make a Trojan virus with remote control function, and arranged for Xiang and four others to pretend to be customers to chat with the merchant, and disguised the Trojan virus made by Yuan as a shopping list and sent it to the merchant, while Yuan acted as the technical adviser of the gang. During this period, Su also contacted the programmer Zhao through the Internet, and Zhao used a self-made crawler script to help Su illegally obtain more than 20,000 pieces of customer shopping information.
Most of the business information sold by Wang, Su and others was used by overseas fraud gangs to defraud citizens after being processed by "buyer" technology.
Due to the novelty of the criminal modus operandi, the Haimen District Procuratorate intervened in accordance with the law, discussed with the public security organs the investigation ideas, and guided the public security organs to investigate and collect evidence. In the process of handling the case, the prosecutor in charge found that in addition to Wang, there were other personnel who had also purchased remote control software from Lin. Considering that most of these remote control software are used for illegal purposes, the court recommended that the public security authorities file a case against these buyers one by one, identify them, and find out the use of the remote control software, so as to intensify the crackdown on cybercrime.
In June 2023, the Haimen District Procuratorate filed a public prosecution of the case with the Haimen District Court. After a trial, the court recently rendered the above judgment.
The prosecutor reminded
(1) For online store operators, it is necessary to raise awareness of network security, do not believe the rhetoric of "buyers", do not click on files from unknown sources at will, improve the level of computer security precautions, install anti-virus software to prevent virus intrusion, maintain their own data security, and promptly report to the police once data leakage is discovered.
(2) For ordinary netizens, first of all, it is necessary to improve security awareness, do not register personal information on websites that may have potential security risks, and think twice when conducting online payment activities to ensure that transactions are normal. Secondly, we should take the initiative to learn Xi anti-fraud knowledge and improve our ability to distinguish fraudulent calls and messages.
Where the Internet is illegal. To create a harmonious online environment, it is not only necessary for the self-discipline of the Internet industry and the awareness of self-protection of netizens, but also for the clear definition of the law as the final checkpoint for safeguarding the rights and interests of netizens. It is believed that through the efforts of all parties in the industry, a strict "firewall" can be built for the majority of netizens.
(The names of the people in the article are pseudonyms, and the pictures come from the Internet)
Source: Nantong Procuratorate Haimen Procuratorate
Editor: Chen Beibei
Review: Li Linjie