On a late summer night in 2025, the lights were still on in the office of the Fifth Criminal Investigation Team of the Du’erbote Mongolian Autonomous County Public Security Bureau in Daqing. Li Houcai sat in front of his computer, fingers flying across the keyboard as streams of data scrolled across the screen. His instant noodles had long gone cold, and cup after cup of coffee kept him going. This was just one of countless sleepless nights over his four-year career combating fraud.
As head of the Fifth Criminal Investigation Team and a second-grade police officer, this former soldier has delivered remarkable results in the fight against fraud: dismantling 14 telecom fraud rings, arresting 184 suspects, and recovering over 2.3 million yuan in losses.
**Mastering Anti-Fraud Skills Through Hard Work** "Telecom fraud is a societal tumor that has bankrupted countless families. We must protect the people’s 'money bags,'" Li said firmly. To hone his expertise, he turned his office into a second home, poring over years of fraud case files. He meticulously documented fraud tactics, fund flows, and criminal network structures, compiling them into manuals. In his spare time, he led his team in studying telecom networks and financial payment systems and sought guidance from higher-level authorities.
His dedication paid off. In 2024, while reviewing case leads, he noticed a suspect surnamed Wang traveling from another province to open a bank account in the county. "No one would go out of their way to open an account so far from home unless they were up to no good," he thought. His team swiftly investigated and uncovered that Wang had opened over 20 bank accounts linked to fraud across 15 cities in seven provinces within two months. With cooperation from police in another province, Wang was arrested and confessed to facilitating fraud-related money transfers.
**Pursuing Justice to Protect People’s Savings** "Many victims lose hope of recovering their money and even refuse to cooperate, but we can’t give up," Li emphasized. To him, public trust is the foundation of anti-fraud work—and trust is earned through tangible results.
In September 2024, a rural couple surnamed Jiang lost 500,000 yuan—their life savings—to a fraudulent investment scheme. "We can’t go on living without our money," Mrs. Jiang wept while reporting the crime. "Don’t worry, we’ll do everything we can to recover your funds. Life will get better," Li reassured them. He and his team worked around the clock, often burning the midnight oil, surviving on bread and short naps at their desks. Their persistence led to critical evidence and the arrest of three suspects.
Such stories are common in Li’s career. During the 2023 "Core Mission" and "Sparrowhawk Operation" campaigns, his seven-member team dismantled nine card-opening gangs. They also revisited all fraud cases in the county since 2021, tracking down 38 suspects across 19 provinces.
**Spreading Awareness to Build a "Protective Net"** "The best medicine for a wound is not getting cut in the first place," Li often says. As his anti-fraud work deepened, he realized prevention is more critical than enforcement. "Fraudsters brainwash victims—we must imprint anti-fraud awareness in people’s minds before criminals strike."
His team produced 48 original short videos using humor and real-life cases to expose the latest scams. This innovative approach, combined with relentless effort, yielded concrete results: in 2025, telecom fraud cases in the county dropped by 43% year-on-year.
Looking at the data, Li smiled with satisfaction. "If we can spare people from losses, a few extra trips and words are nothing."
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