Inner Mongolia intercepts fraud calls for China Mobile users

(chinadaily.com.cn)

Updated: 2016-09-08

The Inner Mongolia Branch of China Mobile will operate a warning system for users to intercept fraud phone calls, according to the local public security bureau.

So far, the system has labeled more than 400 million phone numbers associated with frauds, and among them over 2.3 million are dialed per day.

As the first-ever system against telecom fraud, it provides an alarm function for China Mobile users in Inner Mongolia autonomous region. Users don’t need to download any applications and all types of phones have access to the service, said one official from a local police station.

Using big data, the system inputs fraud phone numbers provided by the public security authorities and then labels these numbers. Once a user picks up or dials one of these numbers, the system will immediately send a warning, and a message will also appear on the screen, according to Sun Weiguo, director of the Information Department of the Inner Mongolia Branch of China Mobile.

Furthermore, the system probes into virtual network operations which telecom swindlers usually utilize to forge non-registered numbers, such as numbers starting with 170 or 171. Also, it sets up a capture function on fictitious public service numbers that financial or insurance agencies offer, often starting with 400.

By building firewalls for mobile phone users, this warning system is similar to security guards against scam calling, said Li Tiefeng, the head of the local criminal investigation squad.

Faced with newly emerging telecom tricks, the system will regularly update the database involving phone scams and then reinforce the warning efficiency, added Sun.

One staff of the company mentioned that China Mobile users in the region need to activate the service called Coloring Ring Back Tone and only via the ringtone can the system send signals and orders toward cell phones.