Police arrest 20 for information theft

Kaohsiung police arrested 20 people yesterday for allegedly selling personal information, according to media reports.

According to police, Yu Li International Marketing Corp (優力國際行銷公司) illegally obtained information on more than 15 million individuals from the nation's telecommunication companies and financial institutions.

The company sorted the leaked information and burned it onto compact disks, and sold them to criminal groups, police said.

Police discovered the crime about six months ago while investigating a fraud case in which information about the victims had been purchased from Yu Li.

According to police, Tang Chun-wei (唐浚蔚), 30, the prime suspect in the case, company owner Wu Chin-yang (吳錦陽), 56, and 18 employees made more than NT$50 million by selling the information, which had been leaked over the past four years.

Police yesterday discovered personal information on almost two-thirds of Taiwanese people in the company's database -- including that of high-ranking officials and celebrities.

Basic information on an individual -- such as name, date of birth and telephone number -- was sold for NT$0.7 to NT$1 per person, police said. More detailed information -- such as bank account or credit card numbers -- was sold for NT$3 to NT$5 per person.

More detailed information -- such as income and family status -- was sold for NT$5 to NT$10 per person.

The information was leaked from Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信), Chinatrust Commercial Bank (中國信託銀行), Macoto Bank (誠泰銀行), Fubon Commercial Bank (富邦銀行), Cathay United Bank (國泰銀行), E. Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行), Taishin International Bank (台新銀行) and other telecom companies and financial institutions.

Police added that some of the leaked information had already been sold to criminal groups in China, which could endanger Taiwan's national security.

Police said they will continue to investigate the case.