Urban residents more switched on to fraud

Residents of Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong spot fraudulent callers faster than anyone else in the country, according to a new report.

The report, from leading Chinese security software provider Qihoo 360, used data collected during August to calculate that the average time a resident of Beijing and Shanghai took to hang up on a would-be fraudster was 18 seconds.

"The less time a user takes to end a call, the more awareness of fraud he or she has," said Pei Zhiyong, a security and anti-fraud professional at Qihoo 360.

Conversely, customers in West and Central China took the longest to end a fraudulent call, according to the report.

In the Tibet, Xinjiang Uygur and Ningxia Hui autonomous regions, for example, users took more than 30 seconds on average to recognize a potential swindler.

"Users should pay more attention and master more technical skills to prevent themselves from being defrauded," Pei said.

"Install some security software to block spam calls because once the scammers know your personal information, you can be more easily cheated."