Thousands Busted in Identity Theft Cases

Chinese Police have busted 4,382 cases of personal information theft, involving 5 billion pieces of stolen information, People's Daily reported Thursday.

More than 4,000 suspects have been arrested in three national crackdowns launched in 2012 and 2013, and at least 1,200 gangs selling and buying personal information illegally have been destroyed.

More than 200 suspects have been punished for providing, selling and obtaining personal information illegally, and the rest face punishment.

On the Rise in the USA as well.

Source... http://www.china.org.cn/china/2013-05/30/content_28978766.htm

 

 

Mark Stone and Andy Portch from Sky News were held in China

Mark Stone and camerman Andy Portch were heard for not displaying passes as they filmed in Tiananmen Square while filming in China, for not displaying their passes. A spokeswoman for Sky News from Australia said the broadcaster was attempting to get to the bottom of what happened. "We expect them to be released shortly."

Stone and his cameraman, Andy Portch, were filming live on air when they were approached by a police officer Friday morning who asked them to stop filming in the square.

The pair broadcast live from the back of the police van as they were taken to a nearby station. It is not clear whether they have been formally arrested.

Stone told Sky News viewers on his way to the police station: "This is just a little insight really into the way reporting works in China. Most of the time things are fine, and for most of the day no problems at all, but then every now and then this happens.

"The police have been entirely civil with us, but they are detaining us nonetheless."

Stone added that police told the Sky News team that they were not displaying their passes correctly and that Stone was not carrying his passport, as he is required to do.

Read More... http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sky-news-reporter-arrested-filming-428950

 

4.5 Million in Chinese-Made Counterfeit Cigarettes Seized

Roughly 30,000 cartons of illegal cigarettes with an estimated street value of $4.5 million were seized from a warehouse in Borough Park last week, the Brooklyn DA's office announced Friday. The major bust was the fruit of a six month investigation, and netted one arrest: Yin Haun Zhao, who is accused of Trademark Counterfeiting in the Second Degree and Attempt to Evade or Defeat Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax. He faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.

According to Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes, the cigarettes included counterfeit versions of popular brands, such as Marlboro and Camel, as well as less well-known Chinese cigarettes. "As unhealthy as smoking is, smoking counterfeit and bootleg cigarettes is even worse, because there is no way of knowing what chemicals they contain,” Hynes said in a statement. “Selling this poison is also a drain on the state and city economy, because these cigarettes are entirely untaxed.” The taxes on that quantity of smokes, if sold legally, would have generated $1.8 million in revenue.

Michael Vecchione, Chief of the Brooklyn DA’s Racket Division, tells Brooklyn Paper that in China, where the cigarettes originated, unregulated tobacco "is sometimes dried by trucks rolling over the nicotine-filled leaves laid out on the ground, lacing it with leaded gas fumes in the process." It's laborious work, but how else are you going to get a pure taste of Diesel Flavor Country.

Source: http://gothamist.com/2013/01/28/45_million_in_counterfeit_cigarette.php