BEIJING, Dec. 19 -- Beijing police said Thursday they have busted three telecom fraud gangs and arrested 112 suspects overseas in a crackdown on such crimes.

In collaboration with Indonesian police, Beijing police investigated two gangs in Jakarta and one gang in Pontianak, arresting 112 suspects, including 79 from Taiwan and 33 from the mainland, said Beijing police.

Since August, the gangs, claiming to be staff of Beijing courts, procuratorates or public security departments, made nearly 30,000 telephone calls to people in China to cheat them out of cash.

Telecom-based fraud is on the rise in China. Beijing police have cracked 22,400 such cases and arrested 1,970 suspects since 2011. In cooperation with police from Asian countries including the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos and Vietnam, Beijing police have seized more than 1,140 telecom fraud suspects.

So far this year, Beijing police have busted 9,390 such fraud cases, up 32 percent over the same period last year.