The Economist.
Hello, this is Heather at Account Services,
and we're calling in reference to your current credit card account.
Does this sound familiar?
A call, a text?
Someone you don't know asking you to click a link or promising you the opportunity of a lifetime?
It is urgent that you contact us concerning your eligibility for lowering your interest rate.
If you've been targeted by a scam like this, you are not alone.
Online fraud is now a $500 billion dollar industry.
One that's grown so large and so sophisticated that some experts compare it to the global drugs trade.
And much of it was first perfected in China on Chinese victims before spreading worldwide.
China loses billions of dollars a year to scammers
and the Chinese Communist Party is redoubling its efforts to stop its citizens from falling prey to them.
I'm Ted Plafker, the Economist China correspondent based in Beijing.
Alice is away this week, so I'll be your host.
I'm joined by Su-Lin Tan, our Asia correspondent and host of Scam Inc, our latest investigative podcast series.
This week we're asking, what is the CCP doing to stop scammers?
And can they actually be stopped?
This is Drum Tower from The Economist.
Hi, Su-Lin, great to see you.