Is the house rental and sale information published online considered personal information? Is it illegal to collect targeted products and resell them to make money? Many people think that "public information is not considered personal information." However, it was precisely because of such reselling of personal information that Ms. Li was defrauded of huge sums of money by overseas criminals, and the person who resold her information was Liu under the guise of a "real estate agent."
This case recently released by the Supreme People's Procuratorate revealed the true face behind the so-called "real estate agency" and reminded that from online information disclosure to overseas reselling, a dark and gray industrial chain is threatening the security of citizens' personal information.
Specially established real estate agency
Collect "first-hand landlady"
A typical case released by the Supreme People's Procuratorate shows that in 2023, the defendant Liu learned while working abroad that the personal information of certain Chinese citizens could be sold abroad for profit. After returning to China, she opened a "real estate agency" company, but the company's operation method was different from that of a normal housing agency.
Wang Guanghui, deputy director of the General Crime Prosecution Department of the People's Procuratorate of Binhu District, Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province, said that after Liu established a company, he recruited people to collect house rental and sale information posted by "first-hand landlady" on various platforms, and then singled out those who may have certain financial strength, screened and sorted the relevant information, and then sold it to overseas personnel. From October 2023 to July 2024, she illegally obtained and sold more than 24,000 pieces of citizens’ personal information, making illegal profits of more than 190,000 yuan.
Housing information was sold and attracted precise fraud
Liu was arrested because the victim reported the fraud case. Among them, Ms. Li was defrauded by overseas criminals because her personal information was leaked, and she was defrauded of more than 290,000 yuan. She reported the case to the public security agency. During the investigation by the public security agency, it was discovered that the information leak originated from Liu's "real estate agency" company, but she collected information on public housing listings on the Internet. How can such behavior be characterized?
Wang Maocai, first-level prosecutor of the General Crime Prosecution Department of the People's Procuratorate of Binhu District, Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province: The public security organs asked the procuratorial organs to provide opinions on how to characterize "Liu collects online public housing information and sells it overseas" based on the mechanism for hearing opinions on major and difficult cases. We combined Liu's subjective knowledge, information sources and uses, transaction objects, harmful consequences and other evidence to propose to the public security organs the investigation direction of related behaviors suspected of infringing on citizens' personal information. We guided the collection of fixed evidence around Liu's cognitive ability, past experience, etc., and comprehensively ascertained the contents of the personal information he sold and other facts.
He was held criminally liable for the crime of infringing on citizens' personal information.
The public security organs adopted the opinions of the procuratorial organs and found out that the information Liu sold overseas covered the location of the property, the area of the house, the rental and sale price, the gender and contact information of the renter, and then transferred Liu to the procuratorial organ for review and prosecution on suspicion of infringing on citizens' personal information.
Wang Guanghui: According to the law, if the illegal income from selling citizens’ personal information exceeds 50,000 yuan, the case is extremely serious and should be sentenced to more than three years in prison. In this case, Liu sold a total of more than 24,000 pieces of citizens’ personal information and made illegal gains of more than 50,000 yuan. We determined that Liu’s behavior was highly harmful to society and the circumstances were particularly serious. We filed a public prosecution in the court and proposed a sentencing recommendation of three and a half years in prison.
On May 30, 2025, the People's Procuratorate of Binhu District, Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province prosecuted Liu for the crime of infringing on citizens' personal information. Liu voluntarily pleaded guilty and accepted punishment; on July 4, 2025, the People's Court of Binhu District, Wuxi City sentenced Liu to three years and six months in prison for the crime of infringing on citizens' personal information and fined him 200,000 yuan. The judgment has taken effect.
Although the case was settled, the prosecutor's performance of duties did not stop there.
Wang Maocai: In response to the problems discovered during the handling of the case, we made a risk warning to the relevant industry authorities and recommended strengthening the supervision of online platforms and standardizing the governance of the real estate agency industry. We also visited a number of real estate agency companies in the jurisdiction with the authorities. Through case presentations and discussions, we promoted companies to improve the review and security prevention mechanisms for online release of housing rental and sale information, and strengthened citizens' awareness of personal information protection.
Selling "public resources" is a serious crime.
Zu Yanguang, a second-level senior prosecutor of the General Crime Prosecution Department of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, told reporters that releasing this case as a typical case is to remind everyone that public personal information of citizens is not a "public resource" that can be resold casually.
Zu Yanguang: Changing the scope, purpose and use of information disclosure without the consent of the person being collected, obviously exceeding the limit of reasonable use, and illegally providing or selling it, if the circumstances are serious, constitutes a crime of infringement of citizens' personal information. This type of behavior can easily become an accomplice to crimes such as telecommunications and network fraud, seriously threatening the personal and property safety of citizens, and must be severely punished in accordance with the law. When handling such cases, the procuratorial organs insist on paying equal attention to punishment and governance. They must not only punish crimes in accordance with the law, but also perform procuratorial duties. Regarding the personal information protection issues exposed in the case, they urge the competent authorities to strengthen supervision and block the leakage of information from the source.
The prosecutor specifically reminded that under the banner of "real estate agency" and "consulting service", citizens' personal information is illegally obtained, bought and sold. If the circumstances are serious, they will not escape legal prosecution. How to prevent such cases from happening in daily life?
Zu Yanguang: Always tighten the string of self-protection. When posting personal information such as house rentals and sales online, you must consciously reduce exposure and try not to write unnecessary contact information, detailed address and other key information. Keep an eye out for calls and text messages from unknown sources, and call the police if you notice anything unusual. Once you discover that personal information has been illegally obtained or abused, report the case to the public security organs immediately and use legal weapons to protect yourself.
