Vizagites lost Rs 7.6 crore to cyber frauds last month

Visakhapatnam: Citizens of Vizag collectively lost between ₹25–27 lakh every day to online financial frauds in Feb 2026, with most complaints linked to investment scams driven by greed and digital arrest frauds fueled by fear. Police, however, struggled to recover the stolen amounts.Residents lost more than ₹7.6 crore to cybercriminals during the month, as scammers adopted new tactics to deceive victims. The cybercrime police station registered 14 FIRs (covering over 70 complaints) across different parts of the city.Of these, three FIRs pertained to online trading scams, costing victims over ₹3.5 crore. One FIR involved a digital arrest fraud where a victim lost more than ₹1 crore. Another three FIRs were linked to APK frauds, with losses around ₹1 crore. The remaining cases involved job scams, credit card offers, and fake online shopping deals.Investment scams alone accounted for over 45% of the total losses, though overall financial damage declined slightly compared to January's ₹12 crore. A senior police officer noted that greed for quick returns drove victims into traps promising high-paying stocks and easy profits.Despite awareness campaigns, senior citizens continued to fall prey to digital arrest and banking-related frauds. In one case, a retired professor was cheated of over ₹1 crore by criminals posing as CBI and ED officials, falsely accusing him of unlawful activities.Police explained that fraudsters often used video calls to threaten victims with arrest. They stressed that reporting within one hour of the crime allows funds to be frozen and legally returned. Victims were urged to call the 1930 helpline dedicated to financial cyber frauds.