The first batch of 200 Chinese telecom fraud suspects are repatriated from Myanmar to China, via Thailand, on a chartered plane on February 20, 2025. Photo: Guo Yuandan/GT

 
The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) along with the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee launched a month-long nationwide anti-fraud awareness campaign on Monday intensifying efforts to combat telecom and online scams.

According to the MPS, the campaign will feature events that bring anti-fraud education into communities, rural areas, households, schools, and businesses, aiming to build a comprehensive, community-based public awareness network.

As part of the campaign, the MPS has partnered with China Media Group to launch a public legal education program. By analysing real-life cases, the initiative aims to broadly disseminate anti-fraud knowledge, expose the latest scam tactics, and enhance public awareness and prevention capabilities.

During the campaign, the MPS Criminal Investigation Bureau and the National Anti-Fraud Center will release the 2025 Edition Anti-Telecom Network Fraud Publicity Handbook.

In 2024, a total of 294,000 telecom and online fraud cases were solved, resulting in the arrest of a large number of suspects, including over 570 key figures—such as masterminds, ringleaders, and core members—behind organized fraud networks, according to MPS. 

The MPS said that nationwide police authorities have carried out intensive operations to crack down on illegal "black and gray" industry criminal groups supporting overseas fraud syndicates. These groups provided services such as promotion, money laundering, technical support, and human smuggling.

Meanwhile, government agencies and local authorities have strengthened coordination to improve comprehensive governance, close regulatory loopholes, and shrink the operating space for fraud-related crimes.

Since the beginning of 2024, the national anti-fraud center has intensified early warning, intervention, and technical countermeasures, issuing 1.838 million fund-related alerts and, in collaboration with other departments, blocking 4.69 billion scam calls and 3.37 billion fraudulent text messages. Additionally, 11.81 million malicious domains and URLs were removed, while 315.1 billion yuan ($43 billion) in illicit funds was intercepted.

Local police departments conducted 4.778 million in-person interventions to dissuade potential victims from falling for scams. These efforts have fostered a unified, multi-stakeholder approach to fraud prevention, effectively safeguarding public assets and legal rights, according to the MPS. 

Global Times