Beijing district claims major success in battle against telecom fraud

Thanks to the joint efforts of police and community managers, the number of telecom fraud cases in Beijing's Fengtai district in June decreased by 59 percent compared to May, an official said on Monday.

Chen Longbo, head of the district's public security department, told a news conference that the decline stemmed from a sustained crackdown on the crime, as well as collaboration with local government agencies and community governors to continuously enhance public awareness on the issue.

Chen revealed that since the beginning of this year, police have helped local communities and villages establish around 15,000 WeChat groups aimed at combatting telecom fraud, covering more than 70 percent of Fengtai's population.

In addition, around 44,000 volunteers have received training and joined an anti-fraud team, helping educate residents on legal knowledge and skills to identify scams, he said.

In the community of Taipingqiao, more than 1,000 anti-fraud WeChat groups have been instrumental in exposing the latest tactics used by scammers. While fighting telecom fraud online, the community workers and volunteers have also worked with the police to visit parks where elderly people often exercise, sing and dance to provide anti-fraud tips.

"In today's fast-paced internet age, short videos have become a major channel for most people to access information. Therefore, we've created a short drama based on real scams, showing viewers how the scammers operated," said Rui Yuanpeng, an official from the Taipingqiao community.

To date, there have been 11 episodes of the short drama, which have been viewed almost one million times, Rui said.

He added that under these measures, from April to June, the number of telecom fraud cases in Taipingqiao dropped by 60.8 percent compared to last year, with economic losses decreasing by 66.4 percent year-on-year.