Personal Information Sales Rampant on Telegram
Contact Details, Addresses, Resident Registration Numbers, and Loan Histories for Sale
Posts on Personal Data Trading Jump from 120,000 to 170,000
"We provide a database (DB) of 40 to 100 real-time small loan applicants per day on average."
An illegal personal information seller is informing a reporter that the price for someone else's personal information is 5,000 won per case. Photo by Seungwook Park
When asked about trading personal information on Telegram, the seller sent a link to a channel he operates. The link included various personal information products such as "YouTube real-time application DB (stocks)" and "real-time loan DB," along with a statement that "hacking operations for various sites and platforms are possible." When asked about the "real-time loan DB," the seller said, "The daily credit loan application DB is 5,000 won per case. We extract 700 cases per day, but currently, only about 100 to 150 can be purchased."
Amid growing social anxiety following incidents such as the leak of over 30 million personal information records from Coupang, it has been found that various types of personal information, including real-time loan application histories and personal rehabilitation application records, are being actively traded online.
On December 18, a search for keywords such as "DB Telegram" and "Old DB Telegram" on portal sites revealed the presence of numerous personal information trading businesses. "DB" is slang for database, while "Old DB" refers to non-real-time, previously collected databases. Information related to loans is traded at a higher price for real-time DBs than for old DBs because the applicant's situation can change in real time.
The types of personal information being traded are diverse, including contact information, addresses, resident registration numbers, YouTube real-time DBs (stocks), loan application records, real-time loan rejection records, and personal rehabilitation DBs. When another seller was asked about a personal rehabilitation DB, he explained, "It is 3,000 won per case, with a minimum purchase quantity of 300 cases. The information was extracted in real time through hacking at a law firm."
An illegal personal information seller is informing a reporter that the price for someone else's personal information is 3,000 won per case. Photo by Seungwook Park
According to the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), the number of posts related to illegal personal information distribution increased by more than 50,000, from 128,529 in 2020 to 178,479 last year. This year, as of August alone, there have already been 120,274 cases, and the year-end total is expected to surpass last year's figure. Such DB trading is clearly illegal. Under the current Personal Information Protection Act, anyone who is not a personal information handler and provides or receives personal information to or from a third party without the data subject's consent faces up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won.
Even the sellers are aware that these transactions are illegal and sometimes show caution toward buyers. One seller, after asking about the buyer's business type and method, responded to the answer "I run a stock trading chatroom and plan to conduct telemarketing (TM)" by asking again, "Why do you need a personal rehabilitation DB for a trading chatroom?" Only after the buyer explained, "I plan to target a specific group," did the seller seem reassured and continued to explain the product.
Yeom Heungyeol, Professor Emeritus of Information Security at Soonchunhyang University, pointed out, "Personal information is leaked through various channels such as hacking or internal leaks. Consumers should be cautious about text messages containing hyperlinks and pay attention to secondary security when logging in. Otherwise, their personal information could be exploited for various crimes without their knowledge."
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