More than 1,900 suspects have been detained in a crackdown by Chinese authorities against crimes involving illegal obtainment of citizens' private information.

During the campaign, which began in April, police nationwide have handled over 750 related criminal cases, seized more than 23 billion pieces of private information and deleted over 352,000 pieces of illegal information, the Ministry of Public Security said.

The campaign has also seen the closure of more than 610 websites and online programs, the ministry added.

Illegally obtaining and selling private information of citizens, including their identities, phone numbers, home addresses, bank and social network account information and passwords as well as shopping records, have led to surging telecom scams, cyber fraud and blackmail in China in recent years.

Malware such as trojan horses, phishing sites and malicious mobile apps as well as free Wi-Fi service have been the top culprits for personal information theft, according to the ministry.

(Xinhua News Agency July 20, 2016)