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On Sept. 20, China established its first police center focused specifically on tackling cyber and telecom crimes nationwide.

Founded by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Public Security, the police center aims to supervise and control bank accounts involved in fraud cases. The center will also cooperate with financial institutions nationwide to block illegal funds, according to an announcement released by the Ministry of Public Security on Sept. 20.

The establishment of the center was authorized by the Ministry of Public Security in January. As of press time, the center has blocked 400,000 accounts in connection with fraud, and over 1.1 billion RMB of illegal funds. More than 10,000 fake base stations and fraudulent network links have been shut down, with over 130,000 mobile phone numbers banned for their involvement in fraud cases, People’s Daily Online reported.

Telecom and cyber fraud have become fast-growing criminal fields in China, causing serious damage to social stability and public security. In August, Xu Yuyu, a college-bound student, died from a heart attack after her tuition money was stolen by telephone scammers.

In addition to the supervision and control center in Beijing, the Ministry of Public Security has also established six research centers nationwide to study cyber and telecom crimes, as well as two prevention and control centers in cooperation with Tencent and Alibaba, Chinanews.com reported.