Sina accused of offering bogus ID verifications
By Xu Chi |
June 27, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
INVESTIGATIONS into a woman who flaunted her lavish lifestyle online under the guise of being a Red Cross Commerce general manager has exposed a well-developed underground business selling fake identity verifications to microbloggers.
At the center of the exposure is microblogging site Weibo.com's verification system, which is used to verify users' personal information by platform operator Sina.com - a service to increase microbloggers' credibility.
A Liaoning Daily investigation into the verification system yesterday showed that by paying 1,500 yuan (US$232) to people claiming to be the platform's staff workers, anyone can pass the verification procedures in only two hours with any fake information provided.
By passing the verification procedure, microblog users may gain a "V" sign beside their names, indicating that they have been verified and are credible.
According to the newspaper, buyers of the service receive a full refund if they fail to gain verification with the fake information - and by paying extra money they could also buy a few followers.
Doubts and criticism into the verification system have come to light after netizens lead an investigation into the job title of a woman who claims to be 20-years old and calls herself Guo Meimei. Verified by Sina as the "general manager of Red Cross Commerce", the woman flaunted her extravagant lifestyle online.
In the latest turn of events she admitted that she had "faked the job identity due to ignorance" and apologized to the Red Cross Society of China for damaging its reputation.
The woman published the announcement on her Weibo microblog yesterday after the Red Cross claimed on its official website that Guo was not employed by the organization and said it had asked the police to investigate her.
Guo's statement was forwarded more than 11,600 times in three hours with thousands of netizens commenting.
Cao Zenghui, a deputy manager of Sina, told the Beijing Morning Post that they have fired some staff workers who were selling the "verification services" and would carry out investigations into all workers to prevent future cases.
Cao also said the company would delete information immediately proven to be fake.
Late yesterday, the businesses selling fake verification services on some major trading platforms such as Taobao.com and 58.com have been banned.
According to Sina's regulations on the verification system, only people meeting certain requirements for being public figures are allowed apply for the procedure by offering his or her contacts to Sina officials via e-mail.
At the center of the exposure is microblogging site Weibo.com's verification system, which is used to verify users' personal information by platform operator Sina.com - a service to increase microbloggers' credibility.
A Liaoning Daily investigation into the verification system yesterday showed that by paying 1,500 yuan (US$232) to people claiming to be the platform's staff workers, anyone can pass the verification procedures in only two hours with any fake information provided.
By passing the verification procedure, microblog users may gain a "V" sign beside their names, indicating that they have been verified and are credible.
According to the newspaper, buyers of the service receive a full refund if they fail to gain verification with the fake information - and by paying extra money they could also buy a few followers.
Doubts and criticism into the verification system have come to light after netizens lead an investigation into the job title of a woman who claims to be 20-years old and calls herself Guo Meimei. Verified by Sina as the "general manager of Red Cross Commerce", the woman flaunted her extravagant lifestyle online.
In the latest turn of events she admitted that she had "faked the job identity due to ignorance" and apologized to the Red Cross Society of China for damaging its reputation.
The woman published the announcement on her Weibo microblog yesterday after the Red Cross claimed on its official website that Guo was not employed by the organization and said it had asked the police to investigate her.
Guo's statement was forwarded more than 11,600 times in three hours with thousands of netizens commenting.
Cao Zenghui, a deputy manager of Sina, told the Beijing Morning Post that they have fired some staff workers who were selling the "verification services" and would carry out investigations into all workers to prevent future cases.
Cao also said the company would delete information immediately proven to be fake.
Late yesterday, the businesses selling fake verification services on some major trading platforms such as Taobao.com and 58.com have been banned.
According to Sina's regulations on the verification system, only people meeting certain requirements for being public figures are allowed apply for the procedure by offering his or her contacts to Sina officials via e-mail.
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