KRISHNAGIRI: A total of 962 cybercrime complaints were reported in Krishnagiri in 13 months starting from April 2021. According to sources in the cybercrime police department, 598 cases were filed in the first nine months, and more than 360 complaints were registered in the first four months of 2022. Victims lost a total of `4.74 crore, police said, adding `15.41 lakh has been recovered and `23.79 lakh was frozen.
“Complaints have been on the rise in 2022, compared to 2021. Of the 598 petitions received in 2021, 541 were registered through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) and 57 were filed at the cybercrime wing at the Krishnagiri district police office. As much as `2. 49 crore was lost to financial fraud in this period, while `18. 67 lakh was frozen and `7. 58 lakh was repaid to the complainants,” a police officer said.
In the first four months of 2022, of the 364 complaints received, 338 were through NCRP and 26 were filed at the office. While `2. 24 crore was lost, `5. 11 lakh was frozen and `7. 83 lakh was recovered and given back to complainants, the officer added.
The complaints received were under two categories--financial fraud and others. Fraudsters in the first category use phishing techniques, gifts, business proposals and marriage proposals to trap victims, while others use morphed photographs, videos or similar ways to defame and threaten victims.
“We have had several cases where the fraudsters befriend women with marriage proposals and later claim to have sent an expensive gift from abroad. They request the victims to pay a tax to bring it to the country and defraud them. Four persons have lost around `1 crore in the district similarly,” he added.
In other cases, victims had filled in their details like user names and passwords on fake websites or links thinking those were KYC forms and subsequently lost money from bank accounts. Many businessmen have lost large sums to fake dealerships. The police officer added that the fraudsters collect the details of possible victims from websites, shops, etc. Many complainants have been defrauded through money-doubling websites too. The officer said that they get their investment and returns the first time they try but lose everything when they invest large sums later. Apart from these, around 300 stolen mobile phones were traced and handed over to the complainants in 2021 and around 50 phones this year.
The police have advised the public to not download untrustworthy applications on mobile phones and be careful while giving them access to contact details and galleries on the phone. To file cybercrime complaints, call 1930 or log on to www.cybercrime.gov.in or approach the Krishnagiri district police office.