A while back, database leak stories seemed to erupt one after another.
One example involved Chaoxing Study. A large number of users suddenly noticed they were following an account called "Peiqi Editor" for no clear reason.
Another major case was the reported breach of the Shanghai police system database. At the time, there were claims that the data was being offered on Telegram, with an opening price of 200,000.
(The image above shows data related to the Chaoxing sale. No screenshot of the Shanghai database sale was kept.)
For a while, these incidents were everywhere: trending searches, short videos, endless discussion. Some time has passed since then, and what happened afterward is still unclear. Maybe everything just faded out without a real ending.
A lot of people worry most about personal privacy once something like this happens. But if we are being honest, most of our information is probably already held by major platforms anyway. Under normal circumstances, those platforms operate under privacy agreements and are not supposed to expose it. Besides, huge platforms are not exactly short on user data, and handing over some information is often tied to getting the services they provide.
What is actually frightening is not simply that platforms collect data, but that criminals may steal database records and use them for scams, extortion, and other abuse.
I had heard before about a Telegram-based social engineering database called "Moore." It reportedly had both free access and paid membership tiers. Even without paying, people were said to be able to look up basic details from a single piece of information, such as a name, phone number, address, or account data. Paid members were rumored to be able to retrieve more, though the specifics were never clear.
That kind of behavior is probably part of what people mean when they talk about "doxxing" in its early stages. You could also say it sits close to the basics of hacking culture.
As for that Telegram "Moore" database, it seems to have already shut down and disbanded. Maybe too many people were talking about it and flooding in, or maybe it was reported and taken down.
A few days ago, there were also rumors floating around that, because of leaked database records, some people used a certain number of entries as samples to indirectly detect errors in population change figures. Whether that was true or just gossip, I really cannot say.
Whatever the case, there is no point in blindly believing every claim that spreads online. It makes more sense to look at these incidents properly, think about them rationally, and not get carried away by every dramatic version of the story.
If some of this sounds vague, then honestly, maybe it is. Not everyone will even know what is being hinted at here.
In the end, these incidents do not change everyday life for most people. After the excitement dies down, the practical thing is still the same: mind your own life, do your work, and carry on.