Report e-frauds in 6-7 hours to boost chance of recovery, cops have recouped Rs 9cr so far

Panaji: Cybercrimes should be reported in the golden period — six to seven hours — after their occurrence to greatly improve the chances of recovery of the stolen money, state cybercrime cell PI Deepak Pednekar said on Wednesday. He said that so far, the cell has been able to recover Rs 9.2 crore in such cases.

He was speaking at a cybercrime awareness programme in Panaji. Pednekar said cybercriminals tap into three factors in victims: negligence, greed, and fear. “If we control these factors in us, no cybercrime can target us,” he said. “A common refrain we hear from cyber fraud victims is that the criminals confuse them by using threats, including of arrest, to make them click on links or download documents.”

It is important to remain calm to avoid becoming a victim, Pednekar said.

He said senior citizens, women, and those with a good amount of money are identified and targeted most often by cyber fraudsters.

“A common fraud now involves investments, in which victims are added to WhatsApp and Telegram groups and induced to invest money. Initially, they are even given returns to persuade them to invest bigger amounts,” Pednekar said. “The cybercriminals have a thorough knowledge of the stock market. One woman has been in the business for 20 years, yet she lost Rs 2.5 crore to a fraud.”

He said more than 20,000 people are targeted across India per day by fraudsters. Pednekar said that in another common scam, victims are called and told that a parcel couriered in their name has been intercepted with drugs. “They will try to create panic. The victim is then told to receive a video call purportedly made by cops,” Pednekar said.

He said that in yet another scam, victims are told that their Aadhaar card has been used to open two to three fake bank accounts. “They then ask you to send money for verification. It is important to remember that a govt official will never ask to transfer money online,” Pednekar said.

He said that in a recent case, a Goa police constable was made to download an app on his phone with the promise of a loan with low EMI and zero processing fee. The app enabled the fraudsters to use the constable’s account to open a GST account through which transactions of Rs 30 crore were made by the fraudsters.

“From matrimonial baits to bullying, and from stalking children to job scams, there is no area left untapped by fraudsters,” Pednekar said. “Cybercrime, like the Covid virus, keeps mutating with crooks developing new strategies to target victims.”