On 2 Sept. 2022, the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress adopted the Anti-Telecom and Online Fraud Law (反电信网络诈骗法), which will come into effect on 1 Dec. 2022.

This is China’s first law against telecom and online fraud. The crime “telecom and online fraud” refers to the act of swindling others’ property remotely via telecommunications or Internet with the purpose of illegal possession.

The Anti-Telecom and Online Fraud Law consists of 50 articles in seven chapters: “General Provisions”, “Telecommunications Governance”, “Finance Governance”, “Internet Governance”, “Comprehensive Measures”, “Legal Liability”, and “Supplementary Provisions”.

It is worth noting that according to this Law, China shall have jurisdiction over any overseas organization or individual that commits telecom or online fraud within the territory of China or provides assistance (e.g., products and services) for such fraud.

Currently, telecom and online fraud is one of the most rampant crimes in China. In total, Chinese police authorities were reported to have resolved more than 441,000 cases of telecom and online fraud and arrested more than 690,000 criminal suspects in 2021.