Cross-border cooperation catches online fraudsters

706 people suspected of carrying out scams in Myanmar handed over in Yunnan

A total of 706 people suspected of carrying out fraud online in Myanmar have been handed over to police in Southwest China's Yunnan province as the result of law enforcement cooperation in combating such crimes, China's Ministry of Public Security said on Monday.

The cooperation in law enforcement has effectively squeezed the living space of overseas fraudsters, and recent online fraud cases in China have shown a clear downward trend, the ministry said.

According to the ministry, the suspects have been brought back by police from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Chongqing and the provinces of Heilongjiang, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian and Henan, where ongoing cases of online fraud are being investigated.

The police will thoroughly investigate all their activities including those related to associated domestic crimes, it said.

A total of 2,317 online fraud suspects related to northern Myanmar have been captured and handed over to China since August. Among them are 23 organizers and key cartel members, as well as 94 known online fugitives.

Given the prevalence of online fraud in northern Myanmar targeting Chinese citizens on the mainland, public security authorities in the border province of Yunnan have strengthened cooperation on border policing with law enforcement departments in Myanmar.

Since September this year, public security authorities in Yunnan have cooperated on border law enforcement with law enforcement agencies in Myanmar.

As a result, a large number of overseas fraud dens have been dismantled, and a significant number of online fraud suspects have been handed over to China.

On Oct 1, Myanmar handed over 209 online fraud suspects to China. Furthermore, there has been significant progress in border law enforcement cooperation with Yunnan's Lincang public security authorities, resulting in 497 online fraud suspects, including 26 known fugitives, being transferred to China on Sept 25 and Oct 7.

An official from the ministry said that online fraud related to northern Myanmar primarily involves order rebate scams, deceptive online investment and finance schemes, impersonating e-commerce and logistics customer service, and fake online loans.

The ministry reminded the public to be vigilant of such scams, improve their legal awareness and enhance their ability to detect and prevent fraud.

Public security authorities will continue to closely monitor online fraud in northern Myanmar, deepen border law enforcement cooperation and take targeted action to apprehend fraud suspects, the ministry said.