Warning about buying, renting or borrowing personal information, identification documents or bank accounts

On the morning of June 19, information from the Criminal Police Department of the Provincial Police said that recently, on social networking platforms, many accounts have posted content about buying, renting or borrowing personal information, identification documents or bank accounts.

By not being aware of the dangers of buying, selling, and renting personal information and bank accounts, many people may indirectly assist in criminal activities and face the risk of being administratively or criminally prosecuted.

The tricks of these subjects are often to take advantage of the name of bank employees who are running the quota to open bank cards and payment accounts to mobilize students, workers, and laborers with low incomes and limited knowledge of the law to open free or low-fee accounts. Then, they agree to buy or lease back from the account owner, from there redistribute them on cyberspace to make illegal profits.

In addition, the subject also used other people's identity documents (purchased from pawn shops, motels or found...), replaced the photo to open payment accounts at banks.

Most of these accounts are used mainly for the purpose of cash flow circulation in cases and incidents related to high-tech fraud and cyber gambling crimes, causing difficulties for the investigation, verification and handling of the authorities.

Regarding sanctions, those who lease, lend, or buy and sell payment accounts and bank cards may be subject to criminal prosecution under Article 291 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017, for the crime of "Illegal collection, storage, exchange, purchase, sale, and public disclosure of information about bank accounts" with a fine of up to VND 200 million or imprisonment of up to 7 years.

In case of renting, leasing, borrowing, lending payment accounts, buying, selling payment account information with quantity from 1 to less than 10 payment accounts, the fine will be from 40 million VND to 50 million VND, from 10 payment accounts or more but not to the extent of criminal prosecution will be fined from 50 million VND to 100 million VND.

From the above situation, the Provincial Police recommends: People need to raise awareness in opening, using, and managing payment accounts, bank cards, and personal documents, and absolutely do not buy, sell, exchange, give away, lend, or rent payment accounts, bank cards, or personal documents.

People need to limit sharing personal information and data such as: citizen identification images, phone numbers, payment account numbers... on the internet to avoid being taken advantage of by subjects to commit illegal acts.

When discovering that their identity documents or bank cards are lost, people need to report to the authorities to have their documents reissued and notify the bank to block the card. This is the basis to prove that the owner of the identity documents or bank cards is not involved in transactions during the time of loss.

In case of detecting any entity offering to rent, lend, buy or sell payment accounts or bank cards, people are requested to report and provide documents and evidence to the nearest police agency for handling in accordance with the law.

Quoc Huong

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