BEIJING, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- More than 80 criminal cases involving fraud or blackmail conducted by fake journalists were investigated from January to August due to a national campaign launched early this year. The National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications on Monday publicized 10 typical cases concerning such violations.
In one case, a person surnamed Zhang had organized a group of people to pose as reporters and blackmail companies in the city of Binzhou, Shandong Province, since 2015, collecting more than 3 million yuan (437,899 U.S. dollars) in blackmail payouts.
In another case in the city of Yulin, Shaanxi Province, a person surnamed Ma was arrested for blackmailing companies and individuals, and threatening them with media exposure if they refused to pay. Ma was suspected of obtaining 913,000 yuan in blackmail payouts.
