Hyderabad: The Hyderabad cybercrime crackdown led to the arrest of 47 people across seven states in August. Police also facilitated refunds of Rs 99.79 lakh to cyber fraud victims.
Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police intensified operations nationwide and made the arrests in connection with 36 cases. The cases covered investment and trading scams, social media offences, OTP fraud and impersonation.
Police also acted against job fraud, credit card fraud, malicious APK fraud and advertisement fraud. Investment fraud accounted for 16 arrests, the highest among the categories. Meanwhile, police arrested 12 people for trading fraud and seven over social media-related offences.
Three people each were arrested in OTP fraud and impersonation cases. In addition, job and credit card fraud cases accounted for two arrests each. Police arrested one person each in APK and advertisement fraud cases.
Hyderabad cybercrime crackdown spans seven states
Telangana recorded 15 arrests during the Hyderabad cybercrime crackdown, the highest among the seven states. Andhra Pradesh followed with 14 arrests, while Delhi accounted for eight. Police arrested four people each in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Haryana and Uttar Pradesh recorded one arrest each.
During the operations, police seized 28 mobile phones, three cheque books and three SIM cards. They also recovered a debit card, laptop, router, hard disk and Apple iPad.
Separately, the refund drive covered 34 cases in which victims had reported losses totalling Rs 17.77 crore. Police facilitated refunds of Rs 99.79 lakh in these cases. Trading fraud victims received Rs 57.96 lakh, the largest amount returned under the drive. Moreover, victims of APK fraud received Rs 12.42 lakh.
The Zonal Cyber Cells separately received 2,952 petitions through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. They registered 349 FIRs and arrested 20 people in 16 cases. Those efforts also resulted in refunds of Rs 41.05 lakh to victims.
Hyderabad cybercrime crackdown targets social media fraud
Cyber patrol teams also increased surveillance of social media platforms during August. They identified and removed 231 profiles and 20 paid advertisements carrying prohibited or fraudulent content.
The removed content promoted obscene material involving minors, fraudulent schemes, betting predictions and fake currency or coin offers. It also included matrimonial scams and bogus employment opportunities.
Cumulatively, police removed 1,317 social media profiles and 2,573 paid advertisements. These promoted online gaming, illegal betting and fake investment websites. Police also registered nine FIRs against promoters linked to such activities.
Under the C-Mitra initiative, police made 2,043 calls to cybercrime victims. Furthermore, they registered 290 Zero FIRs to provide prompt assistance and initiate legal action.
Police urged citizens to remain alert to fake investment groups, malicious APK files and WhatsApp impersonation. They also warned against matrimonial fraud, sextortion and “digital arrest” scams. Victims were advised to report cyber fraud immediately by calling 1930 or using the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.