3,660 complaints lodged at cyber police station

Bhubaneswar: At least 3,660 cyber fraud complaints over duping people of Rs 68.79 crore have been reported at the dedicated cyber police station in Bhubaneswar over the past nine months, a senior police officer said on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters, Bhubaneswar DCP Pinak Mishra said from January to September, 3,660 cyber fraud cases were reported, and 247 FIRs registered at the cyber police station, involving frauds totaling Rs 68.79 crore.

Victims from Bhubaneswar and other parts of the State lodged complaints at the police station. The police have so far frozen approximately Rs 11.86 crore in fraudulent funds and returned Rs 1.80 crore to the victims, Mishra said.

So far, 24 cyber fraudsters have been arrested, he said, adding that for investigation and recovery of the amount, special police teams have been deployed to West Bengal, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Assam and Chhattisgarh in these nine months.

For Durga Puja, cyber volunteers will be deployed at important puja pandals for sharing pamphlets and sensitising the public, he said.Police on Wednesday organised a ‘Cyber Fraud Money Return Mela’ here to return recovered amounts to the complainants. A total of Rs 49 lakh has been refunded to the victims who lost money through cyber frauds including calls, investment trading and KYC updation, police officials said.

On July 10, the Crime Branch of Odisha Police had arrested 15 cybercriminals for their alleged involvement in a series of cyber-crime cases related to crypto, stock and IPO investment frauds. A gang was cheating people in the guise of investment schemes promising high returns. The gang members used to pursue people to make investments by transferring funds into the accounts of cyber fraudsters. The arrests were made on the basis of a complaint lodged by a victim from Bhubaneswar in the cybercrime unit.

On March 29, the victim received a message on Facebook inviting him to join a WhatsApp group focused on institutional trading with discounts on shares and promising high investment returns, police had said.