Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Cyber criminals played havoc in 2024 and siphoned off Rs 61 crore from the bank accounts of victims on different pretexts. The financial losses are nearly three times more in comparison to the amount lost in cases of cyber frauds in 2023.
Cyber conmen mostly lured the people on pretext of online investments, share trading and fooling them on pretext of fake detentions of their sons or near relatives in different cases along with luring them to buy goods online.
Moreover, there were six cases of digital arrests in which cyber conmen wiped off cash worth several lakhs from the victims. Despite the surge in cases, the cyber cell worked hard and managed to recover some of the cash and got some of it frozen in different bank accounts.
Moreover, cyber cell also launched a crackdown on organised gangs involved in arranging bank accounts and SIM cards for the kingpins of the cyber crimes. Records of cyber crimes in Bhopal till December 17 show that 5,764 complaints regarding cyber crimes were received by the cyber cell.
As per records of 2023, the total amount lost by the cyber fraud victims in Bhopal was Rs 26 crore.
However, the amount swindled by the cyber conmen increased by Rs 35 crore in only one year and rose to over Rs 61 crore at the end of 2024. As compared to the hefty fraud amount, the cyber cell only managed to freeze and refund an amount of over Rs 92 lakh, which was transferred to different bank accounts by cyber criminals. Using surveillance and other techniques, cyber cell and crime branch traced and arrested 95 cyber conmen in 69 registered cases of cyber frauds in Bhopal.
ACP, crime branch, Shailendra Singh Chauhan said efforts to raise cyber awareness among people had been doubled. Moreover, a crackdown has been launched against gangs of cyber criminals and persons providing them with fake SIM cards and bank accounts for committing frauds, he added.
Complaints: 5,764
Cases registered: 69
Fraud amount: Rs 61,15,03,336
Cash frozen: Rs 48,94, 692
Refund amount: Rs 43, 37, 810
Lost cash: Rs 15, 60, 37, 463
Arrested persons: 95
About six cases of digital arrest were reported in Bhopal this year.
Two were major cases. On November 28, a doctor couple in Awadhpuri was digitally arrested for 48 hours by cyber conmen posing as CBI and TRAI officials. The couple was forced to transfer over Rs 10 lakh to them. In another rare case in the country, Bhopal police carried out live rescue of an entrepreneur Vivek Oberoi who was put under digital arrest for six hours by conmen posing as CBI and TRAI officials who claimed that Oberoi was involved in financial crimes. Timely intervention of police saved the entrepreneur from losing several crores demanded by fake CBI officials for hushing up the case.
