Fraud is rampant in Taiwan. In order to prevent and combat fraud, the government has continued to amend laws in recent years to increase the penalties for fraud. In recent months, various local courts have successively ruled that people who sold their house numbers to fraud groups were not only criminally sentenced, but also civilly sentenced to compensate for all losses because the members of the fraud group could not be found. The current maximum award in the case is 13.97 million yuan.
What are the cases where someone who sold his or her family name to a fraud group lost his wife (sentence) and lost his army (sentence)? Here is a summary:
Recently, the court made two actual cases. People who sold their house numbers to unknown persons for petty gains were not only sentenced, but also ordered to pay compensation for the entire amount of the fraud! The following is a summary video and detailed description of the real court judgment cases:
1. Case 1: A driver surnamed Wu in Changhua earned $8,000 and was sentenced to 3 months in prison and ordered to pay compensation of more than 3.77 million yuan.
A 21-year-old truck driver surnamed Wu from Changhua County saw an advertisement on the Internet that said “Earn 8,000 yuan by asking for a phone number” at the end of November 2024. He went to a supermarket to apply for a mobile phone number, handed over his SIM card to the scammer, and received a reward of 8,000 yuan on the spot. The phone number was used as a scam by a fraud group, causing the man surnamed Zhong to lose more than 3.77 million yuan. The prosecutors failed to catch the members of the fraud group, and Wu Nan was prosecuted.
In the criminal part, the Changhua District Court sentenced Wu Nan to three months in prison for helping to commit the crime of obtaining property by fraud. He was also fined 90,000 yuan and confiscated 8,000 yuan.
In the civil part, because the police did not catch the fraud group, Zhong Nan advocated that Wu Nan should bear all the losses. Although Wu Nan argued that he was also deceived, the Changhua District Court found that Wu Nan knew that handing over the SIM card to others would become a tool for fraud, and subjectively had uncertain intentions to help the fraud. He should be liable for damages. It ruled that he should pay Zhong Nan more than 3.77 million yuan, and he can appeal.
2. Case 2: Chiayi woman surnamed Liao earned $300 from selling her house number, and was sentenced to 50 days in prison and ordered to pay compensation of NT$13.97 million.
In August 2024, a woman surnamed Liao from Chiayi County applied for a phone number SIM card at a local telecommunications company and sold the phone number to an unidentified man for NT$300. The other party used the phone number to defraud and pretended to be the police to find the victim surnamed Huang, which ultimately caused the woman surnamed Huang to lose 13.97 million yuan.
Criminally, the Chiayi District Court sentenced him to 50 days of detention for helping to obtain property by fraud.
In the civil part, because the police did not catch the fraud group, Ms. Liao did not appear on the oral argument date and did not make a statement. The judge of the Chiayi District Court believed that although she did not join the fraud group, selling her phone number was an act of helping the fraud group commit the crime, and the victim’s The court was still responsible for the huge losses. In the end, the court ruled that Liao Nu must compensate Huang Nu for losses of 13.97 million yuan on December 26, 2025, from June 17, 2025 to the settlement date, plus 5% annual interest. The whole case can still be appealed.
Why Wu Nan and Liao Nu were ordered to bear all losses in a civil lawsuit?
According to the above-mentioned court precedent, because Wu Nan and Liao Nu sold their phone numbers to unknown persons, although they did not join a fraud group, selling their phone numbers was an act of helping the fraud group commit crimes. The court considered it to be in compliance with Article 185 of the Civil Code [Joint Compensation], and they were jointly and severally liable for full compensation for the huge losses suffered by the victims. Because the prosecutors were unable to catch the members of the fraud group, the people who sold their phone numbers were found to be liable for full compensation.
In order to prevent fraud, the government has implemented four new anti-fraud laws. In response to the chaos of “people’s phone numbers”, the fraud group’s phone number channels (volunteer phone number exchange for cash, foreign migrant workers or tourists’ prepaid card numbers), fake company heads) all require telecom phone numbers to implement the “KYC real-name system”, and must use the database designated by the competent authority and on-site photography to assist in verifying the user’s identity and controlling overseas users. At present, it is difficult for the public to shirk responsibility when their IDs are stolen by fraud groups and their phone numbers are stolen. If people are lucky enough to sell the phone number they applied for to an unknown person, they may be deemed by a court judge as an act of helping a fraudster to commit a crime, and they must be held responsible for paying full compensation for the amount of the fraud. Because of a small loss, the loss is a big loss, and they lose their wives and lose their soldiers.
Since combating fraud is the current focus of government policy, the crackdown on fraud groups’ various fraudulent activities will only become more severe. The courts will cooperate with the new four anti-fraud laws and will impose heavy penalties on fraud groups or those who assist fraud. Please stop taking advantage of petty gains and do not provide your phone number to unknown persons to avoid being deceived!
Source: KOCPC Chinese