In 4 yrs, Madurai cops recover Rs3.3cr from cyber crooks

Madurai: Madurai city cyber crime police have recovered as much as Rs3.25 crore lost by complainants in cyber crime cases in the last four years. With cyber crooks becoming more difficult to track, police have urged the public to follow simple precautions to avoid monetary losses.City police commissioner J Loganathan said that as much as Rs22.5 crore was frozen in bank accounts linked to cyber crimes. A total of Rs3.25 crore was returned to owners through court as well by police. The most common types of cyber crime complaints received include investment fraud, part-time job scams, digital arrest fraud, loan application fraud, and bank KYC update fraud.S Selvakumar, inspector of police, cyber crime, told TOI that in cases of investment fraud, which account for a majority of cases, the crooks mostly target regular share market investors. "These cyber criminals design applications similar to regular/legal share market apps with stock market figures. They then promise an immediate profit of 10-20% through offers for new investment, and engage in phishing to defraud them," he said. Another method was to promise people they can earn money from home. "They make people invest, provide them with a small profit at first to lure them, get them to invest higher amounts and then defraud them," he said.Bank KYC update frauds are commonly aimed at senior citizens, taking advantage of their fear to collect personal information or OTPs. "Though less common, there have also been cases of frauds reported through cyber criminals posing as fake police/CBI/customs officials. They claim that the victims are under digital arrest for their Aadhaar numbers or sim cards being used in crimes, and then try to extort money," added Selvakumar. Last year alone, around 30 accused were arrested in cyber crimes under Madurai city police limits.While money vanishes from the owner's bank accounts in an instant in cyber crimes, police said that it is far from easy to make recoveries. "Cyber criminals use VPNs that mask IP addresses, making it impossible to track the location. Our approach is to focus on the bank accounts in which transactions took place, and freeze and follow the money trail," said another police officer.In a bid to create increased awareness, cyber crime helpline number 1930 and website have been displayed at 23 public places in Madurai city. QR codes with links to awareness short films are also set up. "We are also actively creating awareness about cyber crime in schools and colleges," said Selvakumar.