A police officer shares information on how to prevent telecom and internet fraud with local elderly residents at a park in Xinghua City, east China's Jiangsu Province, Oct. 10, 2024. [Photo by Xinhua]

BEIJING -- Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have been introduced in various sectors in China from manufacturing to healthcare services. So how about applying AI to the combating of telecommunications and network fraud?

In a telecom fraud case filed at a police station in Kunshan, an affluent city neighboring Shanghai in the east of China, police officers took just 10 minutes to trace the flow of funds and successfully intercept the delivery of 500,000 yuan (about 69,600 U.S. dollars). Eight hours later, the location of the suspected hideout abroad was identified, while an online arrest warrant was issued 24 hours after that.

With the assistance of AI technologies, nine suspects were arrested, with more than 70 percent of the frauded funds recovered for the victim within three days.

The highly efficient settlement of this telecom fraud case was to a great extent attributed to an "AI police" team that was established in May 2024 -- a group of 35 police officers empowered by AI technologies, big data and smart models to provide support for crackdowns on criminal activities.

"Since the 'AI police' were deployed, they have assisted in solving 609 cases of telecommunications and online fraud, recovering 32.47 million yuan in losses," said He Yongliang, deputy captain of the criminal investigation brigade of the Kunshan public security bureau.

In general, work efficiency has seen a more than five-fold improvement, He added.

This is an epitome of how a modern technology-powered police system of China, a country with the lowest homicide rate and the fewest gun and explosive-related criminal cases, tackles new types of criminal activities in the digital era.

Friday marks the fifth Chinese People's Police Day. Thanks to the unremitting efforts made by China's public security organs in safeguarding people's safety and maintaining social stability, China has won the recognition as one of the safest countries in the world.

In recent years, however, telecom and network fraud crimes have continuously risen in numbers, with some cross-border cases targeting Chinese citizens. These criminal activities posed a significant threat to the safety and property of Chinese citizens.

As telecom and network fraud remain rampant, while new forms of crime have also emerged, Chinese police have intensified their anti-fraud fight by adopting tech-empowered approaches.

In response to the new situation concerning fraud crime, the municipal public security bureau of the city of Hefei, east China's Anhui Province, has developed an intelligent crackdown mechanism which leverages information technologies such as big data and semantic analysis to collect case elements -- including the bank card and social media account involved, as well as information regarding suspects.

This smart mechanism also helps to incorporate cases via data computing. "The incorporated handling of cases makes it easier for us to discover and integrate common evidence among different cases. This is not only helpful in building a more complete and powerful chain of evidence but is also conducive to saving judicial resources and improving judicial efficiency," said Fu Rui, deputy head of the investigation center at the Hefei municipal public security bureau.

This upgraded crackdown on telecom and internet fraud has produced tangible results. In 2024, the bureau prevented nearly 3 million people from falling victim to such crimes, according to Fu.

Effective early warning is crucial in guarding against telecom fraud. The anti-fraud center of the bureau developed an AI system which dials precaution calls -- automatically warning people about the risks of falling into traps set by swindlers.

Since the launch of the system, nearly 6 million warning calls have been made, anti-fraud police officer Fei Bingqing revealed. "It has relieved our pressure and increased the success rate of our dissuasion efforts," Fei said.

Compared with traditional artificial warning calls, this system is available to the public around the clock, providing anti-fraud consultations and sending precautionary messages to targeted groups, thereby making it easier for ordinary people to gain and raise awareness of the threats posed by telecom fraud.

China has maintained a tough stance against telecom and network fraud. In July 2023, Chinese police launched a special campaign to combat telecom and internet fraud originating from northern Myanmar -- successfully busting several crime dens.

Since this campaign began, a total of 53,000 Chinese nationals suspected of crimes have been captured. On Dec. 30, 2024, 39 members of major criminal groups based in northern Myanmar were prosecuted in China for telecom fraud and other crimes targeting Chinese civilians.

China's prosecutors have worked together with police in repatriating funds and recovering losses for victims. The first 10 months of 2024 saw the urgent prevention from transfer of some 236 billion yuan of funds from defrauded victims.

"Applying big data and AI technology to the crackdown on and management of telecom and network fraud is helpful for curbing the rise in such crimes," said Liu Tiankun, a senior officer from the Anhui provincial public security department.

Liu added that faced with changes in the forms and means of telecom and network fraud crimes, security departments would continue taking advantage of high-tech options in fighting telecom and network fraud from the root, while also strengthening anti-fraud awareness among the public.