In 2016, 83,000 cases of telecom and Internet fraud were solved in China, up 49.6 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Public Security.
Taiwanese-led telecom fraud gangs suspected of cheating 3.5mln US dollars from mainland residents caught by police in May 2016. /Xinhua Photo
The ministry noted in a statement issued on Saturday that the number of fraud cases has dropped significantly since last September, three months after banks and police nationwide began cooperation to respond to telecom frauds.
This new cooperation mechanism includes blacklist-sharing between telecom operators, a new three-level bank account system, ATM transfer restrictions and many more.
You can only have one limitless account in each of China's banks. /VCG Photo
These measures have helped police to successfully stop bank transfers to 73,000 fraud accounts and recover 1.13 billion yuan (around 164.8 million US dollars).
The increase in telecom and Internet fraud has been contained, the ministry said in the statement, adding that economic losses caused by telecom and Internet fraud in 2016 decreased by 10.9 percent year-on-year.
In 2016, police nationwide busted nearly 7,700 telecom fraud rings.
China also cooperated with other countries to crack down on frauds. Last year, Chinese police dispatched work teams to several countries, including Kenya, Laos, Malaysia, Cambodia and Spain, and brought back 561 telecom fraud suspects, the ministry said.
81 telecom fraud suspects return to China from Cambodia & Laos under police custody in June, 2016. /CCTV Photo
According to Chinese law, the fraudsters will be jailed for two to 10 years if their crimes are convicted in court. Their illegal gains will also be sacked, and they'll be slammed with fines worth thousands of dollars.
(With inputs from Xinhua)
