Chinese police crack 220,000 telecom, online fraud cases

BEIJING -- Chinese police have cracked 220,000 cases involving fraudulent activities perpetrated through telecommunication or internet from January to August, up 40.1 percent year on year, the Ministry of Public Security said Friday.

Some 296,000 suspects involved in such illegal activities have been arrested, up 104.4 percent from last year, the ministry added.

A total of 6,821 smuggling gangs were busted along the country's southwest border, leading to the arrest of 27,000 suspects.

Since last October, Chinese police have busted 26,000 gangs involved in SIM card or bank card frauds.

Public security organs across the country issue 74,000 early warnings on average every day, and have helped prevent 7.96 million people from falling victim to such frauds this year, averting a collective financial loss of 277 billion yuan (about $42.94 billion).