Goa police registered one cyber fraud case every fourth day over three years

Panaji: In the last three years, Goa police registered 313 cyberfraud cases with an average of one case every fourth day.

Chief minister Pramod Sawant, who is also the home minister, said a total of 103 cybercrime cases were pending investigation for more than six months. he added that a total of Rs 11 lakh were incurred on the investigation of cybercrime cases, and 132 cases were solved.

Cyber fraudsters so far cheated Goans to the tune of Rs 100 crore. Police said this was just the official figure, but the actual amount could be much more.

Police investigations revealed that cyber fraudsters usually operate from abroad, making it difficult to arrest them.

Goa police urged senior citizens to be more cautious while interacting with unknown people online, as a vast majority of victims of cyberfraud in Goa are retired persons.

Stating that cyber fraudsters target senior citizens for four reasons, Goa police said, “The first is that senior citizens are not tech-savvy, second, it is easy to manipulate them, third, they have substantial savings in banks, and last, senior citizens never consult anyone while investing online,” police said.

With the rise in cybercrime, state govt prepared a cyber crime awareness action plan that includes a cyber safety and security curriculum in educational institutions from Class VI onwards. A senior official said the draft content will be provided by the police to the directorate of education.

To tackle cyberfraud ccases, state govt set up the Goa Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (G4C) to ensure effective coordination, analysis, and response to cybercrime across the state. G4C will monitor the investigation of cybercrime cases and complaints received through online platforms, as well as offline complaints registered at police stations.

G4C will provide technical, analytical, and operational support to cybercrime investigations, and enhance cybercrime prevention through awareness, training, and capacity building.