Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Amid claims by senior police officials issuing repeated cyber fraud advisories and training imparted to police personnel to combat cyber crime cases, worrisome figures pertaining to cyber frauds have emerged in the city.
According to data revealed by Bhopal cyber crime cell, the first quarter of 2024 alone has witnessed 1167 cyber fraud complaints from January to April 2024. In all the said cases, the city residents have been duped of Rs 6.49 crore. This implies that on an average, Bhopalites are being duped to the tune of Rs 1.6 crore approximately every month.
Senior officials of district cyber crime cell told Free Press that out of Rs 6.49 crore lost by the city residents, close to Rs 2 crore were duped on the pretext of task frauds (frauds offering victim person to complete simple tasks in return for money). In 2023, Bhopalites were duped to the tune of Rs 16 crore, which implied that the monthly amount they lost to fraud was close to Rs 1.33 crore. In the first quarter of 2024, city residents were duped of Rs 1.6 crore every month.
Advisories issued but no end in sight
Notably, almost a year ago, the district cyber crime cell has issued an advisory with regard to task frauds, suggesting the city residents to be circumspect of any such frauds. Still, the task frauds reigned supreme both in 2023 and in the first quarter of 2024.
Rs 55 lakh frozen
Of the total amount city residents lost in 2023 (Rs 16 crore), the cyber wing has managed to freeze Rs 55 lakh, which will be returned to some of the complainants shortly. When Assistant Commissioner of Police (cyber cell) Sujeet Tiwari was inquired about low success rate, he said, “Amount is frozen only if the complainant informs police about the fraud within half an hour.” He also said that there was low public awareness regarding steps to be taken after falling victim to cyber frauds.
