Telecom providers have legal duty to protect users

Xu Yuyu, a college-bound student in Linyi, Shandong province, died recently after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest apparently brought on by the stress of being swindled out of the nearly 10,000 yuan ($1,500) that her family had raised for her tuition fees in a telephone fraud.

This is only one of the many tragedies that are caused by the rampant telecom scams in China. There have been an increasing number of such swindles in the Chinese mainland in recent years, including some large-scale criminal activities committed by residents in Taiwan.

The fraudsters have benefited from China's well-developed telecom sector and booming online commercial and financial activities. Given that transferring funds via the internet is very convenient, many Chinese people have got accustomed to online financial activities in their daily lives. However, the difficulties financial institutions face in verifying traders' identities as well as the need to use transaction codes or passwords for deals offer opportunities for swindlers.