Police caution on-line investors to monitor balances, beware of fraud

BEIJING, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Public Security on Friday released a circular advising investors who trade or bank on-line to monitor their accounts for fraud, amid an unprecedented public enthusiasm for investment.

The circular said that although on-line bank accounts were convenient, they were subject to security flaws.

The ministry gave an example of a recent incident in southeast China's Fujian province. A citizen surnamed Lin in Nanping City told local police that he had opened a postal fund with on-line trading facilities valued at 110,000 yuan (about 15,068 U.S. dollars) with an agricultural bank. When he tried to redeem the fund, he found the account had been cleared out.

The police investigation found that Lin's password and online digital certificate might have been stolen by someone using an on-line 'Trojan' virus, which gave them access to the fund that could be cashed in within three days.

Given the strong public interest in investment funds, the Ministry of Public Security warned those who conduct their financial affairs on-line to be alert for on-line viruses, apply for hardware digital certificates rather than software versions, check their balances frequently and keep their personal information confidential.

The ranks of China's fund investors have been expanding rapidly. As of September, there were more than 50 million fund holders on the mainland, according to the Shanghai Securities News, with a large proportion trading on-line.