Local police will send out 2 million booklets to local residents' homes over the next few months to warn them about telecom fraud, police said at a launch event Thursday.
The booklets aim to prevent telephone scammers from preying on elderly residents, who may be less familiar with telecom fraud.
"Elderly residents fall victim to telecom scams far easier than young people do," said Feng Xia, a press officer with the Public Order Division of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau. "Although we have put out a lot of public service announcements on the subway and public bus lines, as well as on television and radio, a lot of elderly residents rely on more traditional ways of getting information."
Police hope the booklets, which detail the different kinds of telecom scams police have encountered, will help elderly residents learn more about it, Feng said.
It is the first time that police have mailed booklets to residents to warn them about a specific kind of crime, Feng said. They plan to update the booklet with new scams and release them in the future.
As of October, police and local banks have stopped 3,563 residents from transferring money to telecom scammers this year, saving them more than 185 million yuan ($29.6 million), police said.
"We also call on young people to tell their elderly relatives about how to recognize and avoid telecom scams," Feng told the Global Times.
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