A man in China recently revealed that his girlfriend of three years purchased his hotel stay records from online vendors, exposing personal data from the past five years. The records reportedly included not only check-in times and locations but also information about any accompanying guests, sparking public concern over data privacy and e-commerce platform oversight.
According to Jimu News, the 30-year-old man, surnamed Chen, said he was shocked when his girlfriend suddenly questioned him about his past movements and delivery addresses, producing detailed results she had obtained. “She confronted me with the information, and when I saw it was accurate, I realized she had paid to get it,” Chen said.
Chen explained that the data had been purchased from an online store for around 3,800 yuan (about RM2,620), with the most expensive service—checking hotel stay records—priced at 12,800 yuan (about RM8,820) per record. Vendors reportedly only required an ID number to access the information, though records could also be retrieved using a person’s name, phone number, or WeChat account.
Chen noted that because his job frequently requires travel, the hotel stays were legitimate business trips with no accompanying guests. “She was suspicious and went to check, but my bigger concern is how this information can be bought so easily,” he said. The online stores reportedly also offered other personal data for sale, including delivery addresses (780 yuan, approx. RM538) and bank account information (6,800 yuan, approx. RM4,685).
Some vendors on e-commerce platforms market these services under the guise of “lawyer document retrieval” or “online filing,” but they are effectively selling personal data. Chen warned, “Just using someone’s name and phone number, you can piece together their full identity and access private information. The loopholes in the system are extremely dangerous.”
Investigations found multiple online shops openly advertising “lawyer document retrieval” or “online filing” services. Some claimed to be law firms or legal service providers, listing “legal consulting” as a business activity, yet lacked proper legal credentials.
Chen said the vendor his girlfriend used is registered as “a Wuhan business services company,” established in March this year, with business registrations covering graphic design, technical development, and legal consulting—but no authorization to practice law. E-commerce platform customer service suggested filing complaints through official channels, which would then be reviewed and handled by relevant authorities.
