Over 12,000 held in crack down on online crime, data theft

More than 12,000 suspected criminals were arrested after a crack down on 4,588 cases involving online crime and personal data theft in Guangdong province in 2017.

Police across the province seized more than 710 million pieces of stolen personal data during a year-long campaign code named Anwang 2017, or Safety Internet 2017, according to Lu Feng, deputy director general of Guangdong Provincial Department of Public Security.

"Many computers, mobile phones, ID cards, bank cards and related equipment were seized during the campaign which focused on fighting and investigating online crimes and personal data theft," Lu told a news conference in Guangzhou, the province's capital, on Thursday.

Despite the achievement, police in the southern province will continue to intensify their effort to crack down on online fraud and personal data theft and try to raise awareness about protecting personal data this year, he said.

"Infringement of personal privacy and personal data theft are serious crimes in the mainland," he said.

Lu urged enterprises and organizations that collect large amounts of personal data, including property management companies, mobile phone service providers, banks and intermediary agencies and brokerage firms to introduce concrete and effective measures to protect their clients' personal information.

He hinted more special campaigns will be launched to fight against online crime and personal data theft in the coming months.