China takes severe measures against telecom fraud
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Telecom fraud is increasingly widespread as a result of the wide use of mobile phones. [Photo: xinmin.cn]China's Supreme People's Court, Supreme People's Procuratorate and Ministry of Public Security have jointly issued a circular to clarify problems with law application in handling telecom and Internet frauds, reports China National Radio.

The circular sets unified standards on the sum of money defrauded. Suspects scamming over 3,000 yuan (about 430 USDs) shall be sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years. Those involved over 50,000 yuan (about 7200 USDs), should be deemed as an "extremely huge amount", and the maximum punishment could be life imprisonment.

According to the document, if the crime led to death or mental illness in victims or their families, or the fraud is in the name of disaster relief or charity money, the suspects will be handed harsh penalties. Also, if the scammers impersonate officers of state organs, organizing or practicing fraud overseas, they will also get severe punishment.

It also regulates that those who recruit others to join organized crime groups, providing plans and information for scamming, will be sentenced to the same crime.

In recent years, syndicates led by suspects from Taiwan and based in Southeast Asia, Africa and Oceania have been falsely presenting themselves as law enforcement officers to extort money from people on the Chinese mainland through telephone calls, according to Chinese police.

Victims in the cases included migrant workers, teachers, students and elderly people from the Chinese mainland, and some of them committed suicide under the pressure of their economic losses.

Statistics with the Supreme People's Court show that Chinese police cracked 93,000 cases of telecom and Internet fraud from January to November this year, penalizing 52,000 offenders.

Author： 　　　Source：CRI　　　 Editor：Yang Fan