Double-digit fraud crime reduction in China

Information systems co-constructed with IT enterprises in China have released information revealing a double-digit reduction in the amount of cyber fraud cases each month, from September 2016 to May, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

Zeng Haiyan, political commissar of the Ministry of Public Security's Criminal Investigation Bureau, said Saturday that the number of telecom cheating cases reached 630,000 last year, equating to 10 percent of all crimes across China.

"We need to establish a close cooperation with high-tech internet companies in order to deal with the different forms of crimes," she said.

Zeng added personal information and property were two key elements of cyber fraud, which generally did not have direct linkage with police.

Liu Zhenfei, chief risk officer of Alibaba, said the Alibaba Group provided clues of 9691 suspects, across 23 provinces in China, throughout 2016.

Liu added the company would also like to use its strength in data and technology to construct a safer society.

"The Alibaba Group has, so far, assisted police to find a major suspect who caused a teenage girl to have a cardiac arrest after she was cheated out of 10,000 yuan, over the phone, in August 2016," he said.

Qiandun, an application developed by Alibaba last year, identifies forged ID through artificial intelligences and big data, and blocks suspicious asset transfers in banks, internet companies and third party payment platforms, according to Liu.

"It reminds customers of phone calls, QR codes and websites they have accessed, which could be infected with viruses, in a cooperated project with the Ministry of Public Security," he said.

Wang Yihua, director of Alibaba's security department, said the data collected from the background of the app could also help the police to find sources of fraud.

The app has, so far, been used in about 60,000 cases," he said.