KRISHNAGIRI: Krishnagiri cybercrime wing has refunded Rs 1.32 crore out of Rs 14.90 crore to complainants who had lost their money in the past five months this year.
Krishnagiri ADSP, crime against women and children, cyber crime wing told TNIE, "We received 1,888 complaints in the past few months, against the 1,679 complaints we received last year in the same period. More FIRs were filed and more money was lost relatively. A total of Rs 14.90 crore was lost by complainants of which Rs 1.32 crore has been refunded to people, but last year, Rs 13.39 crore lost and only Rs 39 lakh was returned."
He added that the Ministry of Home Affairs had taken initiative to recover the amount by applying on the Money Restoration Module (MRM) portal. "It was only last year that people needed to approach court and banks to retrieve their amount and defreeze bank accounts, but from this year they can apply in the MRM portal and can easily receive the lost money," the ADSP said.
He further said that banks were encouraged to use the National Cyber Crime Report portal for grievance redressal to support the victims to get back their money. Meetings were also being conducted with banks to inform about suspicious transactions to other accounts especially from elders. For instance, an elderly woman in the district was about to lose Rs 10 lakh in a digital arrest scam, but a bank manager monitored the transaction and informed the police after which the risk was averted."
The ADSP pointed out that while digital arrest FedEx courier scams have reduced in the district, share market scams are still on the rise, with around 65% of total complaints being reported from the surroundings of Hosur in Krishnagiri district. He warned the public to beware of instant loan scams.
The public can contact toll-free number 1930 within 24 hours of the crime to report grievances.
