13,000 people fall victim to cybercrime in Vizag, loss of Rs 100 crore

VISAKHAPATNAM: Visakhapatnam police have revealed that as per the National Cyber ​​Crime Reporting Portal, over 13,000 people in Visakhapatnam have fallen victim to cybercrime, resulting in losses amounting to around Rs 100 crore over the years. Of this, Rs 18 crore has been withheld or frozen in various bank accounts.

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the city police, led by Commissioner Dr Shanka Brata Bagchi, Deputy Commissioner Dr Kanginelli Fakkeerappa and the cyber crime wing, have released Rs 4.6 crore from the frozen funds to 150 victims.

The world of technology has given rise to a new era of crime, in which cybercriminals employ a wide range of tactics to deceive and exploit individuals and organisations. These crimes include impersonating bank employees, linking Aadhaar cards and impersonating courier services to dupe money for fake couriers.

The rise of e-commerce and online transactions has led to an increase in phishing scams, investment fraud and part-time job scams.

Task games and easy money making schemes are also becoming increasingly popular, promising quick financial gains but only resulting in financial losses. Cryptocurrency fraud, honey trap fraud, and fake TRAI fraud are other examples of how criminals are creatively finding ways to cheat people out of their hard-earned money.

The threat of cybercrime is not limited to financial losses. Identity theft, cyberstalking, distribution of pornographic material and human trafficking are all serious crimes.

Despite growing concern, many cases of cybercrime go unreported. The available figures are alarming, but they represent only a fraction of the actual cases.

“The number of cybercrimes is increasing day by day and new types of cybercrimes are emerging regularly. If victims report the crime promptly within an hour, the lost money can be frozen immediately. This allows us to proceed legally and return the money to the victims. The earlier the crime is reported, the higher the chances of freezing the funds,” said the CP. “Freezing the money prevents it from reaching the fraudsters’ accounts, which allows us to claim it from the concerned bank and return it to the victims,” explained Dr Bagchi.