Progress made on fraud fight, but residents urged to remain vigilant

More than 18,000 cases of telecom and online fraud were solved by Beijing police last year, with over 27,000 suspects captured, Hu Yingkun, an official from the Beijing Public Security Bureau's criminal investigation department, told a news conference on Monday.

Some 300 sites where some of the alleged fraud had taken place were shut down, he said.

Hu also revealed some new types of fraud that have been prominent in recent months and reminded residents to be more vigilant when receiving phone calls or text messages from strangers.

"For example, we've found that some suspects have persuaded consumers to pay small deposits for products through text messages or phone calls, and then cut off contact with the buyers once the money is received. No products are sent," he said.

Since the beginning of this year, such cases have made up 14.32 percent of the bureau's total fraud-related reports, he added.

"We've also discovered that a number of suspects have induced people to hold nude chats online after adding their instant messaging accounts on platforms such as QQ and WeChat. Then, the fraudsters blackmail the victims by threatening to post the pictures if they don't pay money," he said, revealing that such cases have made up 7.98 percent of the total reports.

Calling on the public to follow the bureau's anti-fraud tips on its WeChat account to enhance prevention awareness, he also suggested residents accept calls from 96110 — an official anti-fraud phone number — when contacted to answer questions in a timely manner.

Officials at 96110 make calls when they suspect residents have been defrauded.

In addition, he reminded residents to pay close attention when someone asks for their help to obtain or borrow bank cards or phone cards or open payment accounts.

"Such assistance may be seen as aiding telecom and online fraud, making the card or account holders criminally liable," he added.