Spike in scams smears port city

GUANGZHOU: A spike in an increasingly popular fraud scheme has struck this major port city, and authorities are pointing the finger at foreigners for the scams.

Eight foreigners have gone on trial for the so-called black-money scam in Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court in the first six months of the year.

That caseload is equal to the number of black-money scam cases heard by the same court between 2002-2008, according to court officials.