Phone fraud to rise as year ends

Telephone scams will increase as the New Year approaches, Beijing police warned yesterday.

From Oct 29 to Monday, residents in Tongzhou district were hit by 14 telephone-based scams, police said in an email to METRO yesterday.

"Beijing is a metropolis with a large floating population. Crimes tend to jump near the end of the year as migrant people are under pressure to save money for Spring Festival," said Zhang Lixian, a press officer with Tongzhou police.