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Comment by yogenpro | Hacker News Reader

For 1, right now it is still fairly easy to buy "identities" from black market to use with Chinese Internet services. With the so-called "4-piece set" (national ID card, SIM card, debit card linked to a bank account, U-shield (hardware 2FA key for online banking)), one can set up WeChat/Alipay to collect payments without revealing their true identity.

And those "4-piece sets" are not faked ones. People purchase those from slumdogs who woud like some extra cash and don't know or don't care what happens if their identities are used in criminal activities.

But with 2-5... It's possible that those dumb crooks were too dumb to consider that much and just used an WeChat account registered under their own name.

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You can buy identities alright, the real challenge is how to cash out the money. The account will likely be locked upon investigation, if not, the moment whoever cash it over the ATM or counter will be arrested on site.

Scammers often hire innocent agent cash out these accounts. But still with very low success rate.

> The account will likely be locked upon investigation

The WeChat account already been banned. http://www.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2018-12/05/c_1123807970.htm

Now it's time for the police to dig out the real criminal.

A proxy/jumper account might work until (as you said) somebody starting to cash the money out.

Seems a very dumb thief, but again, how do somebody steal money online without been caught now days?

use e-tokens like Bitcoin, with a mix service, then convert them to real currency in a random country.

Well, too late to know for that guy, he's already been arrested[0]. Guys on Solidot[1] digged out many interesting things, including one issue he posted on one of he's own GitHub repo saying "Help! How can I delete this repo, I have to run!".

LOL

BUT, I almost feel pity for him. Take look the picture of him on the news[0], look the environment he's living in and how thin he is, pretty rough life I'd say.

I hope hes doing well in prison and become a better man after this. If he can write a virus capable of doing all that, then I think he will also doing well in most companies that does web related works.

[0] https://news.163.com/18/1207/10/E2DS6H800001899O.html

[1] https://www.solidot.org/story?sid=58856

Privacy cryptos like Monero?

Then it will probably be banned in China, so nobody can actually pay the ransom.

Plus, I have read a news article on Wired[0], I don't think Monero is private enough to against state/police launched attacks?

Consider there are many ways to make money legally, doing something at that level of risk maybe just not worth the trouble.

[0] https://www.wired.com/story/monero-privacy/

so... you just have to mug someone and take the stuff they normally carry around with them? yikes.

That probably doesn't work, since the victim will report the theft and the cards will be cancelled.

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