Spam leaves phone users speechless (3)

Private info for sale
Businesses are fond of advertising via text messages because it is cheap, said Yu Guofu, partner with Beijing Shengfeng Law Firm. And it is easy for businesses to take advantage of the lack of clear privacy protection laws in the industry.
Legalizing spam also is not difficult. Agencies in Beijing charge around 12,000 yuan to help companies apply for a legal license as a service provider to send text messages legally. The licenses are granted by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and local communications administrations.
In 2008, the annual "315 Evening Gala" consumer watchdog program on China Central Television reported that a general manager of Focus Media Wireless boasted to a reporter that the company possessed the names, addresses and phone numbers of more than 200 million mobile phone users in China.
The remark infuriated the Chinese public as many realized their private information might have been intentionally leaked or even sold without their consent. The TV show led to a crackdown on spamming by many service providers that own licenses. And Focus Media shut down its mobile texting business.
And volume discounts
Two years after buying the BMW, businessman Tian Dong's cell phone number - plus the number of his car plate and registered company address - can be easily obtained from online vendors at a cheap price.
A vendor who gave only his surname, Yang, said he has personal information for 150,000 Beijing car owners, including Tian. "If you have valuable contact information, I can pay you a good price for it," Yang said.
In turn, he sells each entry for 0.06 yuan, but he offers a discount to volume buyers. "If you want to purchase 150,000 car owners' numbers, I can give it to you for 3,800 yuan." The full price would be 9,000.
Yang's company website, www.lone88.com, also offers personal information on golf club members, bank VIP clients and students - mostly supervisors and managers - who are working on an executive master of business administration degree.
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