STILL a few months before getting the keys to his new apartment, Kevin Wu, an employee of a local consulting company, encountered an unexpected headache: phone calls from property agencies asking him whether he would like to sell his new home.

Besides the property agencies, furniture salesmen and home decoration companies surprised and annoyed him when they revealed knowledge of the exact address of his new home.

"They must have got my mobile phone number from the developer, who is not supposed to release such information without my permission," Wu complained.

Wu is not the only one pestered by unwanted phone calls and short messages, as personal information, more valuable than ever, is less secure in today' society.

Revealing figures

According to a recent survey conducted by Beijing-based Up-Point Consulting, more than 60 per cent of respondents in Beijing said their personal information had been leaked to companies or individuals. The equivalent figures were 55 per cent in Shanghai and 39.3 per cent in Guangzhou.

Telephone numbers, ID card numbers, occupation, income, assets and medical documents are the most frequently revealed information, the survey said.

"Personal information of consumers has become an important tool for market development, and there has been a rise in underground trade in customer information in recent years," said Zhao Jiaoli, secretary general of the Shanghai Consumers' Association.

"Detailed consumer information can save us a lot of effort when targeting potential customers, and such data bases are not difficult to access in the property industry," said Vincent Xue, a former property agent.

According to Xue, a number of vendors live on trading the information of apartment owners.

"Such vendors usually buy customer information from the developers, who register the apartment owners' phone numbers, then they peddle the directories to property agencies, charging some 500 yuan (US$60) for a directory," Xue revealed.

Trading consumer information is not limited to the property industry. An unnamed saleswoman in a local insurance company confirmed that buying customer information is also a common practice among insurance companies.

"The funniest thing happened to one of my classmates. She began receiving mobile phone messages from matchmaking companies just a few days after divorcing her husband."

Leaked personal information can mean not only unwanted telephone calls but also financial loss. This January, a criminal gang using fraudulently obtained personal information to apply for credit cards, according to the Bund Pictorial.

After acquiring 48 resumes through deceptive job interviews, the gang applied for credit in the name of the job applicants and defrauded 470,000 yuan from banks over nine months.

Common complaints

Though complaints about the leaking of personal information are not rare, few people have ever taken serious action to stamp out the practice.

"Who should I sue? The developer who sold my information or the property agency who bought it? Actually, I haven't any idea whether I can sue anybody," lamented Kevin Wu.

Wu may soon be able to find the answers to his questions.

It is reported that China is drafting its first Law on Personal Information Protection, and it will soon be put on the agenda for legislation, according to the Beijing Morning Post.

It's proposed that cellular phone-numbers, home addresses, medical files and occupational information will all be on the list for protection.

Once the law goes into effect, those who exploit other people's private information could face administrative, civil or even criminal charges.

"Security of personal information is a basic human right in an information society. Otherwise we will become transparent people without secrets," said Zhou Hanhua, a law professor on the drafting committee for the law.

Once the law is put into effect, purposes and methods of collecting personal information will be supervised by special government departments to guarantee effective implementation of the new safeguards, said Zhou.