China has experienced a decline in telecom and online fraud cases for eight consecutive months since October 2025, according to officials from the Ministry of Public Security. At a news conference on Friday, Zhu Lei, deputy director of the ministry’s Criminal Investigation Bureau, attributed the downward trend to enhanced investigations, stricter industry regulations, advanced technical countermeasures, increased public education, targeted fraud prevention efforts, and strengthened international cooperation.

Telecom and online fraud remain significant challenges, considered a major form of transnational organized crime affecting public security within China. Zhu noted that since 2025, approximately 58,000 fraud suspects have been extradited to China through collaboration with foreign law enforcement agencies. China has also worked with partners in Myanmar and Cambodia to dismantle major gambling and fraud operations, resulting in the capture of key leaders of cross-border criminal networks. Domestically, authorities reported solving 258,000 fraud cases in 2025.

Despite these achievements, such crimes continue to occur frequently, with fraudsters adapting their tactics to evade detection. Zhu highlighted a shift away from traditional phone calls and text messages toward the use of social networking platforms, short-video livestreaming, e-commerce sites, lifestyle services, and online gaming environments. These channels now account for around 66 percent of fraud cases. Criminals often employ lesser-known communication apps to bypass early-warning systems, encouraging victims to install these applications to facilitate scripted conversations and manipulation.

Another emerging scheme involves fraudulent apps equipped with screen-sharing and call-forwarding capabilities, allowing criminals to remotely access victims’ phones to steal bank details, passwords, and verification codes. Zhu also pointed to a trend where fraudsters increasingly use cash, gold, and valuable items such as mobile phones and watches to transfer illicit funds. Tighter financial controls have led them to persuade victims to withdraw cash or purchase goods, which are then sent or handed over to designated individuals.

Zhang Zheng, representing the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s cybersecurity bureau, outlined the sector’s comprehensive prevention efforts, including early detection, real-time interception, and post-incident investigation. Since 2025, regulatory inspections have been conducted to enforce compliance with the Anti-Telecom and Online Fraud Law, holding companies accountable for lapses in anti-fraud responsibilities. Authorities have intensified real-name registration for phone services and launched operations targeting the illegal sale and rental of phone cards, SIM box devices, and activities linked to cross-border fraud. By late 2025, nearly 200 million high-risk phone cards and over 400 million internet accounts connected to fraud activities had been identified and managed.

Fraudulent apps remain a persistent issue, with criminals frequently luring users via QR codes or malicious links. In 2025, more than 27,000 fraud-related apps were detected, generating over 41 million risk warnings. The government introduced anti-fraud electronic labels for legitimate apps in sectors such as finance, securities, and government services, reducing counterfeit app numbers by over 90 percent.

Since 2025, authorities have banned 64,000 fraud-related apps, intercepted 3.6 billion scam calls and 3.3 billion scam text messages, and blocked more than 8 million fraud-related domain names and websites. Joint efforts with the People’s Bank of China have resulted in the freezing or halting of payments totaling about 217 billion yuan ($32 billion) suspected of being linked to fraud.

On Thursday, the Ministry of Public Security published the 2026 edition of its public anti-fraud handbook, which outlines common scams and criminal tactics. Zhu said police plan to release new anti-fraud tools and share cases highlighting joint disciplinary actions targeting telecom and online fraud. Ongoing outreach efforts will continue across communities, rural areas, households, schools, and businesses, with grassroots workers and volunteers playing key roles in prevention education.