Telecom fraud busted in North China

SHIJIAZHUANG -- Police in northern China's Hebei province said Wednesday they had busted a trans-provincial case of telecom fraud involving more than 100 million yuan ($14 million).

A total of 48 suspects were arrested in the provinces including Fujian, Jiangxi and Hunan, with more than 100 computers and over 200 mobile phones related to the cases seized, according to the public security bureau in the city of Handan, Hebei province.

Early this year, a robbery occurred in Handan, during which the victim was forced to transfer more than 40,000 yuan. The robber confessed that he once engaged in telecom fraud in the city of Shahe.

According to this clue, police found a telecom fraud gang in which the scammers, disguised as beautiful women, used social media platforms to establish romantic relationships online and win the trust of victims before asking them to invest in fake platforms.

After manipulating prices on the fake platform, the suspects would tell the victims that they have suffered huge losses and then cheat them out of their money.

So far, 31 of the suspects have been transferred for prosecution.