Chinese Internet media and message boards are abuzz with information that Xidian University in Xi'an has used the personal data of more than 10,000 students to apply for credit cards without notifying them.

On December 8, 2008, an XU student published a post online, saying that when he went to apply for the online banking service of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China at a branch near the school, he was told by the bank that he had already opened an ICBC credit card and had applied for the banks' online banking service. The student was surprised as he had not applied for the service. After seeing this student's post, many other XU students called ICBC's service number and learned that ICBC credit card's had been issued in their name although they had not applied for them.

Local media reports that many of these students are postgraduate and PH.D candidates, and the credit cards were applied for at ICBC's Xi'an Branch Nanguan Sub-branch. Two representatives of ICBC Nanguan Sub-branch told the media that it was XU that provided the students' information and applied for credit cards. The persons said that XU signed an agreement with the bank before applying for the credit cards.

Under pressure from the students and the public, XU finally admitted that it had used the students' IDs to apply for the credit cards in bulk. The school's financial director believed that they were doing a good thing for the students as the credit card costs the students nothing and imposes no risks to them.

It is said that XU provided the students' information to the bank in return for the banks' financial support. However, it did not realize that it is wrong to disclose students' personal information to a third party without the individual's authorization. According to China's Resident ID Law, a person can be fined between CNY200 an CNY1,000 and detained for up to ten days if that person assumes another person's identification as his or her own.

The credit cards in question have all been canceled.

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