SHENZHEN Intermediate People s Court accepted and heard 17,000 civil lawsuits involving credit cards in the first nine months of the year, almost triple the total number last year, according to the court.
Around 99 percent of the suits were related to intentional overdrafts taken out by credit card holders, according to the court.
The number of lawsuits involving intentional overdrafts on credit cards is expected to reach 20,000 this year, said Wang Yuping, chief judge of the court.
An increasing number of intentional overdraft cases has led to the growth in the number of civil lawsuits.
However, in 99 percent of cases, defendants failed to attend their hearings. Banks, as plaintiffs, had 100 percent odds of winning the cases, the court said.
Credit card crime is becoming increasingly more professional and industrialized as ways to steal credit card information diversify, the Securities Times reported yesterday.
The banks loose examination and verification processes in issuing credit cards and the increasing use of cards have also provided opportunities for criminals.
Wang said civil lawsuits had a limited effect in arresting the phenomenon of intentional overdrafts and commercial banks could file criminal lawsuits when an overdraft reached a certain level.
In one case involving an intentional overdraft the defendant, who failed to repay an overdraft of 130,000 yuan, was sentenced to five years in prison, the paper said. (Martin Li)
