The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) is to cooperate with local governments to crack down on frauds selling bogus stocks and securities.

Illegal institutions and individuals had been fabricating false information to sell stocks "to be issued overseas" and attracting buyers with promises of high returns, said a CSRC statement on Thursday.

Cases had been reported around the country and were spreading in some regions, with many victims being retired people or laid-off workers, the most vulnerable groups.

Enterprises illegally issuing stocks were mainly from central and west China, while institutions illegally operating securities businesses were mainly in coastal regions.

The public security departments and the securities regulatory institutions in November decided to crack down on illegal securities businesses.

Local governments, including Beijing and Shanghai, have set up special working group to crack down such cases, according to the CSRC.

(Xinhua News Agency December 22, 2006)