Some residents who fell victim to telecoms scammers got some or all their money back from police on Thursday at a public event held in Changning District to promote awareness of such scams.

The total amount of money returned was about 5.3 million yuan (US$780,000).

Shanghai police said they prevented residents from losing about 3.8 billion yuan to telecoms scammers last year by timely reminding them of the traps via SMS messages, phone calls and in-person visits after potential scams were detected.

Police have announced an intense crackdown on telecoms scams this year.