Foreign spies are disguising their identities to buy phone numbers and social media accounts in China to pose as recruiters for part time jobs or close personal friends to gather personal information, the country’s top intelligence agency has warned.
In a post on its official social media account on Tuesday, the Ministry of State Security (MSS) cited three cases of Chinese citizens “falling into traps” set by foreign intelligence agencies while urging people to “sharpen their eyes” to the schemes, without offering further details.
The ministry said foreign espionage agencies have been buying social messaging accounts and mobile numbers online to circumvent China’s identity registration process, using them for “spy contacts” and to send funds. Anyone who sells numbers or accounts to foreign spies could become “accomplices”, unwittingly endangering national security, the MSS warned.
In one case, a person who sold his mobile number online later discovered his number had been used by spies after the ministry informed him he had been placed under investigation.
The MSS warned that foreign intelligence agencies could post part-time jobs online to recruit people to conduct surveillance and searches, and record video in sensitive areas under the pretext of “research”.
