Most online fraud in China involves fake job ads, finance

Most cases of fraud in China involved fake part-time job information and online financial products in 2017, according to a report from Qihoo 360 on Monday.

A tipoff platform operated by the security software provider and the Beijing Public Security Bureau received 24,260 leads concerning online fraud last year, up by 17.6 percent year-on-year, the report said.

The majority — 3,804 — were related to false part-time recruitment, followed by fake online finance and shopping products and services, it added.

Economic losses from fraud reached more than 350 million yuan ($54.7 million), according to the report.

"As people tend to use the internet to shop, earn money and make daily life more convenient, swindlers take advantage of online products and services to steal money," a Qihoo 360 security specialist said in the report.

People have been advised to pay more attention when buying online financial products because the number of cases of fraud related to such transactions is increasing.

The report said about 70 percent of fraud victims were men, while 43 percent were born in the 1990s.