China cut off the services of 9,700 mobile phones involved in the communication of illegal short messages during a nationwide crackdown in November, said a police spokesman Tuesday.

"In addition, we have closed 108 bank accounts related with illegal activities using short message service (SMS) as a tool and confiscated a large number of communications devices," said Wu Heping, spokesman for the Ministry of Public Security.

According to Wu, the police received more than 107,000 clues of illegal SMS-related cases from the general public last month.

Illegal activities using SMS as a tool have been on the rise in recent years. In one of the typical cases, mobile phone users often receive messages saying they have won big prizes in a lottery, but they have to pay a certain fees or taxes to get their prizes which do not exist at all.

SMS is also used in the prostitution business to promote hookers.

(Xinhua News Agency December 6, 2005)