New graft-fighting body tackled 22 online fraud cases last year

An office specializing in investigating telecom scams and online fraud that was established in Beijing's Dongcheng district last year, has tackled 22 cases involving 72 suspects, Dongcheng District People's Procuratorate said on Wednesday.

The office, set up as part of the district's prosecuting authority in March 2012 with five prosecutors, is the only department to specialize in online fraud. It investigates people who are using the Internet or telecommunications for graft, according to a statement provided by the authority.

Gao Xiaoyong, a prosecutor in the authority, said cross-border cases have become increasingly common. He said the main reason behind the establishment of the office is to collect information to solve the growing number of fraud cases. From August to September 2011, 14 Chinese went to Indonesia and pretended to be Chinese police to steal illicit money worth more than 1.44 million yuan ($ 232,000).

Besides fraud, online theft and gambling has also come to prosecutors' attention and become a major target, Gao said.

A defendant surnamed Liu in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, stole private information, including bank accounts and passwords, on the Internet and used them to make online purchases, which netted him nearly 30,000 yuan between 2011 and 2012, the statement said.

"The office has also compiled a database of typical online and telecom cases, aimed at dealing with such fraud in a professional manner," Gao said.

He said following research and investigations last year, prosecutors made suggestions to three telecom companies that they strengthen their management.

"We'll provide tips on how to prevent such fraud at our open day," he added.