The Beijing government is encouraging the public to report on spies, offering a cash reward of up to 500,000 yuan ($72,400) to those who successfully report espionage activities.

The Beijing State Security Bureau published its new reward scheme, which became effective Monday, to encourage the public to report any suspicious espionage activities, Beijing Daily reported Monday, with any successful tip-offs netting tipsters cash payments of between 10,000 and 500,000 yuan.

A phone operator at the tip-off hotline set up by the bureau told the Global Times that the scheme was announced Monday.

According to the bureau, activities that count as espionage include working for foreign espionage organizations in any capacity, or accepting tasks from such organizations.

Espionage activities also include incidents in which overseas institutions, organizations or individuals obtain State secrets through their own prying, according to the notice.

According to the bureau quoted by Beijing Daily, it is easy to spot espionage as it "affects the public's daily life."

However, the Beijing bureau also said that people will be held legally responsible if they intentionally give inaccurate or misleading information.

In January 2017, a fisherman surnamed Zhang from East China's Jiangsu Province found a mysterious device with foreign writing on it while he was fishing in a coastal part of the Yellow Sea. His friend Wan then informed the authorities. Employees from the local state security bureau decided it was a device used for espionage after analyzing it and rewarded both Zhang and Wan, according to media reports. 

Netizens, however, have said that spotting spies is unlikely to be as easy as the bureau claims. "Only an unprofessional spy can be found so easily by the public," said Sina Weibo user zaishuiyifang.