WeChat account unblocking carries risks, be cautious with online part-time jobs.
Compiled from: CNR, Beijing Youth Daily
On August 27, 2020, the first national case of "WeChat unblocking" leading to criminal charges, prosecuted by the Jianggan District People's Procuratorate of Hangzhou, was heard in court. The Jianggan District Court sentenced defendant Gao to one year and six months in prison and a fine of 10,000 yuan for the crime of aiding information network criminal activities, and defendant Zhang to one year and two months in prison and a fine of 10,000 yuan.
Case review
While in school, defendant Gao earned money by helping others unblock WeChat accounts through the platform's self-service unblocking feature. In November 2019, he established the "Super Studio" to specialize in unblocking WeChat accounts. Together with his girlfriend Zhang, knowing that others were using WeChat for fraud and other criminal activities, he instructed studio members to repeatedly provide unblocking assistance to fraud suspects with WeChat IDs such as "Hello Miss," "Li Ya," and "Boundless Sea and Sky" through methods like "pre-adding friends" and "facial recognition unblocking."
As of April 8, 2020, "Super Studio" had successively unblocked 3,315 WeChat accounts involved in fraud, which were linked to over 300 fraud cases. Among these, the total amount defrauded from victims in 12 filed fraud cases was as high as 96 yuan.
Relevant legal provisions
"Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China"
Article 287 bis
Crime of aiding information network criminal activities
Whoever knowingly provides technical support such as Internet access, server hosting, network storage, or communication transmission, or provides assistance such as advertising promotion or payment settlement for others committing crimes using information networks, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention, and/or a fine.
Where a unit commits the crime in the preceding paragraph, the unit shall be fined, and the directly responsible supervisors and other directly responsible personnel shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the first paragraph.
Where the acts in the preceding two paragraphs also constitute other crimes, the offender shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions for the heavier penalty.
[1] The author's perspective
In this case, Gao and Zhang fell in love in college and should have worked hard together for their studies. However, they went astray after starting a part-time job unblocking "WeChat accounts." Initially, Gao added the client's WeChat as requested, and after a while, the client asked him to unblock the account. During the operation, the system prompted that the WeChat account was suspected of fraud. Although Gao had concerns at the time, he still proceeded with the unblocking and received his "first pot of gold." Though the amount was small, the ease and convenience of making money this way delighted him, and he felt he had found a quick way to earn wealth.
But after Gao was blinded by greed, even when someone reminded him that the unblocked WeChat accounts might be involved in fraud, he remained stubborn and continued unblocking. In just a few months, the studio unblocked thousands of WeChat accounts suspected of involvement in online fraud.
Gao's girlfriend Zhang, who worked with him on unblocking, was also a pity. Not only would her studies be terminated, but the dream of becoming a "teacher" she had eagerly anticipated was destroyed by her own hands. Her parents also had to compensate for her mistakes—such a profound lesson.
The author reminds that while part-time jobs are good, one must judge their legality and resolutely avoid illegal or criminal ones. The author advises students who have done or are considering such part-time jobs to stop in time and not to stray further down the wrong path.
