THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Run for cover, cyber fraudsters, the ‘hunters’ are on the prowl. In what could be termed as the state’s biggest crackdown on cyber fraud so far, the state police’s cyber crimes wing deactivated more than 300 SIM cards and took down nearly 100 websites engaged in scamming and other economic offences over the past two weeks.
‘Hunters’, a four-member special team engaged by the wing, used special software and relied on victims’ feedback to detect the SIM cards used by fraudsters and get the cards blocked with the help of the Department of Telecommunications. The team also managed to take down nearly 100 fraudulent websites — mostly phoney e-commerce sites used to con people who pay upfront to procure goods at cheaper rates. Cyber Crimes SP Hari Sankar said it was the first time the police were taking such proactive offensive measures against cyber fraudsters and scammers.
“The action will act as a deterrent as the operational costs of fraudsters will go up. Deactivating the SIM cards will also render the mobile phones unusable for making calls or connecting to any mobile network. So basically, the phones cannot be used for communication purposes any more,” he said.
The deactivation of SIM cards alone will hurt fraudsters as procuring the cards using fabricated documents cost them thousands of rupees. A source said the police’s role in tackling cyber financial frauds used to be limited earlier. “Our role was mostly confined to informing banks about frauds, getting them to freeze the accounts of fraudsters and trying to get back the amount duped from victims, if possible. Now, we have stepped up our game. Since the offensive action has a direct financial implication, we feel we are sending a strong message to the scammers,” the officer said.
Meanwhile, the police will hold a meeting of representatives of various banks, e-wallet companies and service providers on Thursday to discuss ways to deal with online financial fraud. A senior officer said about 140 representatives are expected to attend the online meeting in which the police will apprise them of the need for swift action. “In several cases, it was noticed that banks delayed freezing the accounts of the offenders despite being issued notices. By the time they act, the fleeced amount might have been withdrawn,” said the officer.