NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police has registered 372 FIRs and arrested 91 persons involved in cyber frauds to cheat people in need of oxygen and life-saving drugs such as Remdesivir. The national capital has witnessed a growing demand for hospitals beds, covid care facilities, oxygen support, oximeters and concentrators and life saving medicines.
Following the scarcity, black-marketeering, hoarding and cyber frauds too have increased sharply. The police’s Cyber Crime Cell has launched ‘Operation Cyber Prahaar’ to curb frauds and nab cheats. As per data of Delhi Police, the cyber cell teams have blocked 214 bank accounts involved in these cases and frozen an amount of `53.60 lakh. Defrauded money amounting to `6.60 lakh has been put on hold through MHA (14C) cyber helpline 155260.
“There was a sudden and substantial change in the nature of distress calls being received on Covid helpline, following which the police augmented the capacities of its Covid Helpline 011-23469900 for reporting cheating cases. Simultaneously, an awareness campaign requesting citizens to lodge cyber fraud instances on www.cybercrime.gov.in and the use of Delhi’s special cyber financial fraud helpline 155260 was initiated,” said police spokesperson, DCP Chenmoy Biswal.
“All district cyber cells and the Cybercrime Unit have joined hands. A system to generate 12-hour situation reports on complaints and FIR has been put in place,” said a senior police officer. The police said an analysis of registered cases and complaints indicated that most suspect SIM cards were subscribed and sourced from one state.
The places from where these SIM cards were being used were in another State. The beneficiary accounts where these SIM users received the cheated money were scattered all over the country. West Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka appeared as being highly affected by the presence of the cybercriminal network. “Twenty teams were sent to seven states to raid and nab the fraudsters,” said the official.
