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Shenzhen startup Pujiang Tech launches app to catch out phone scammers

The team of young innovators took just two weeks to develop the free app that aims to help tackle a widespread problem in China

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Last year more than 590,000 telecom frauds in China netted 22.2 billion yuan, according to people.com.cn. Photo: David Wong
He Huifengin Guangdong

A Shenzhen-based tech startup has developed and launched an app designed to combat the growing problem of Chinese phone scammers, after hearing the tragic consequences of a recent case.

Late last month, the team at Pujiang Tech were shocked to hear the case of a Chinese student who died of a heart attack after she was swindled out of 9,900 yuan she had been intending to pay her tuition fees with.

Feeling they needed to do something to prevent similar tragedies, the four men - all in their early twenties - worked day and night for two weeks to develop an app to help people spot phone scammers.

The result - a free app for Android, called Vanguard Against Scammers - automatically records any call from an unrecognised phone number and stores it on the phone for up to 72 hours. Users can then share the recorded content via social media if they suspect a scam.

The app is designed to expose every new kind of scam to the public
Zeng Zhao, founder, Pujiang Tech

“The app is designed to expose every new kind of scam to the public in time,” said Zeng Zhao, 26, who founded Pujiang Tech in March to develop educational games and software.

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