People found guilty of sending more than 5,000 fraudulent text messages or of making more than 500 fraudulent phone calls will be charged with fraud and could get more severe punishments under new regulations issued by the Supreme People's Procuratorate, China's top prosecuting authority, and the Supreme People's Court, China's top court, on Thursday.

The move is an effective way for judicial organs to prevent fraud and punish would-be con artists, said Sun Jungong, spokesman for the top court.

Fraud is becoming a bigger problem in China.

In 2007, 18,403 fraud cases were heard by the national courts, involving 22,364 defendants but by 2010, the numbers had shot up to 25,642 fraud cases and 32,284 defendants, according to statistics from the top court.

"As a new type of fraud, telecom fraud is usually committed by a group and in a professional manner, which poses a major threat to people's property and causes great harm to social development," said Hu Yunteng, head of the research department with the top court.

Telecom frauds mainly include tricks that inform victims they have won a prize, owed money for phone bills or scams involving credit cards, online shopping, long-lost friends, as well as kidnapping and extortion, he said.

In 2009, property losses caused by telecom frauds in Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong hit 1 billion yuan (US$153 million), Hu said.

The new regulation that was approved in February stipulates that suspects who publish false information in a bid to swindle others by sending messages and making use of the Internet, radio, TV, newspapers or magazines will be accused of fraud and will be subject to heavier penalties, Hu said.

Sun said: "The new regulations clearly define the charge and sentencing standards of new types of fraud, such as telecom frauds, which is conducive to effectively preventing and punishing these kinds of crimes."

In addition, if the suspect sends 5,000 or more fraudulent text messages, makes 500 or more fraudulent phone calls, or uses excessive tactics, they will be charged with fraud and be held criminally accountable, it says.

Under the Criminal Law, if a person is convicted of common fraud, he may be jailed for up to three years. If the amount of money involved is between 30,000 and 100,000 yuan, sentences can range from three to 10 years.

If the circumstances are serious, such as the amount of money involved is more than half a million yuan, or if the fraud results in someone's death or causes the victim to lose their sanity or some other serious consequence, those convicted can be sentenced to between 10 years and life.

Moreover, people who provide the criminals with credit cards, mobile phone cards, communication tools and network technology that support or assist in the crimes will also be held criminally accountable and charged with fraud, according to the regulations.

Tong Hongxin, a Beijing-based lawyer at Yingke Law Firm, said on Thursday that he welcomed the new legal interpretation because it will have a positive impact on future cases.

"It is more practical for me to deal with defrauding cases than before," Tang said.