Some Thoughts on the Buying and Selling of Accounts

qqp

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Oct 21 02:55

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#2439

Few commodities are as controversial as online accounts. While some people purchase accounts to better protect their privacy, others may do so for the purpose of committing fraud. Consider this: some people buy knives to chop vegetables, while others might use them to harm someone. Should we, therefore, ban the sale of knives?
Accounts come in various forms—some require real-name verification (KYC), while others do not. Only accounts that require KYC carry the potential for fraud; those that do not—which inherently offer privacy protection and can be registered by anyone at any time—pose virtually no such risk. Does this mean such accounts have no value for trade? Certainly not. Many of these accounts possess unique or rare qualities, holding special significance for different individuals. Transactions involving such accounts pertain solely to their rarity, not to any potential for deception.

For example:
Decades ago, an early online chat service called "QQ" emerged in China (it remains widely used today). When it first launched, a QQ account was simply a string of Arabic numerals. The shortest accounts consisted of just five digits—shorter numbers being much easier to memorize—such as 12345, 00000, 88888, or 78569.
At the time, registration for QQ was completely open, with no requirement for real-name verification.

As the internet was just beginning to take off in China, many people—especially the youth—became fascinated with QQ. Consequently, individuals registered numerous accounts (including a large number registered by employees of Tencent, the company behind the service). Many of these were short, meaningful sequences—such as 00000, 11111, 88888, 66666, 99999, or 55055—which were both concise and highly memorable. As QQ grew rapidly, all available five-digit account IDs were quickly claimed. This was followed by six-digit, seven-digit, and eight-digit IDs—eventually reaching the current 11-digit format. These longer, modern account IDs are far more difficult to memorize.

Consequently, the early, short, and unique QQ account IDs—which were easy to remember—became highly valuable. Websites dedicated to the trading of QQ accounts began to emerge. A standard five-digit account could fetch as much as 20,000 RMB (3,000 USD), while a six-digit account could sell for over 5,000 RMB (800 USD). Accounts with special, desirable characteristics—such as "88888" (the number 8 is considered highly auspicious in China, symbolizing wealth)—could command prices as high as 580,000 RMB (80,000 USD). Those who secured these early accounts made a fortune.

In fact, because many early users registered multiple QQ accounts, they played a pivotal role in the platform's growth and expansion.
No one had a greater stake in QQ’s success than these individuals; since they held large numbers of accounts, the value of their holdings depended entirely on the platform’s continued growth.
Driven by this, early users spared no effort in promoting QQ, encouraging their family, friends, and colleagues to sign up and use the service. They were instrumental in the platform's early development.

Ultimately, by allowing open registration, requiring no "Know Your Customer" (KYC) verification, and permitting the unrestricted buying and selling of accounts, QQ effectively—and perhaps inadvertently—gained an army of unpaid promoters.

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qqp

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Oct 21 11:22

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#2443

Taobao, China’s largest online shopping platform, operates on much the same model. From the beginning, Taobao accounts could be registered freely, and they could also be bought, sold, or transferred. This remains the case today: Taobao shops (accounts) can not only be bought, sold, or transferred, but even inherited. The philosophy behind Taobao is simple: "If a physical shop on the street can be operated, bought, sold, or inherited, then an online shop should be no different." Of course, Taobao’s success stems from far more than just this, but the platform remains entirely open to the buying, selling, transferring, and inheriting of accounts.

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USAGI

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Oct 21 13:11

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#2446

Well said. People should also realize just because a site uses third party biometric verification, it doesn't mean it's illegal to trick the service with a fake ID. For one, if you are to believe third party verification TOS for "age verification" and not financial verification, they delete the data after a holding period so there is no legal expectancy that the KYC verified account is actually tied to a specific ID. Additionally TOS violations only recognize the site owner's right to limit service or terminate accounts. It does not criminally bind users to abide by it. This is why people can legally sell video game or social media accounts even though it is against the TOS of the site.

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qqp

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Oct 21 13:44

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#2448

Reply to post #2446

I see your point. In many cases, software doesn't actually need to perform KYC (Know Your Customer) checks at all. Yet, some applications that claim to be "KYC-free" are actually conducting such checks covertly. Any software that requires a phone number for registration is, in effect, performing KYC—since, in many countries, phone numbers are tied to a strict real-name registration system. Once an application has your phone number, it can essentially access all your personal information; for all practical purposes, you have undergone a KYC process.

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emberquill7

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Oct 21 15:34

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#2449

FORUMPROBE HTMLB [b]BBB[/b] [url=https://example.com]URLX[/url]

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emberquill7

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Oct 21 15:35

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#2450

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qqp

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Oct 22 15:36

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#2465

Reply to post #2450

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Some Thoughts on the Buying and Selling of Accounts