Telangana: Cybercrime frauds rose by 11% in 2024
Hyderabad: Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) director Shikha Goel on Monday said that there was a 18 per cent increase in cybercrime complaints this year. It was at 1,14,174 cases this year, compared to 91,652 in 2023.
The factors that led to the increase were the establishment of seven cybercrime police stations and creating a 1930 call centre, which helped freeze ₹244.56 crore in fraudulent transactions. Around ₹176.71 crore was refunded to 17,411 victims this year.
The bureau arrested 21 individuals involved in cybercrimes across the state. This operation, reinforcing zero-tolerance policy against cybercriminals, was led by Shikha Goel. They targetted offenders in Hyderabad, Cyberabad, Rachakonda, Karimnagar, and Jagtial.
The suspects were linked to 25 cybercrime cases within Telangana and 73 cases nationwide. The arrested include individuals from different professions such as delivery workers, gym trainers, real estate agents, and private employees. They were allegedly involved in schemes such as business investments, KYC frauds, part-time job scams and matrimonial frauds. The agents maintained criminal links with 714 suspects nationwide and 325 cybercrime hotspots.
Of those arrested, 13 were involved in using their bank accounts to withdraw ₹8.2 crore in proceeds from cybercrimes. The remaining eight, acting as agents, collected the money and transferred it to their counterparts abroad through crypto currency. The bureau has identified five associated crypto wallets and is investigating further to trace the financial flows.
Telangana was among the top five states in conversion of cybercrime complaints to FIRs, with 24,643 FIRs registered this year. TGCSB also conducted 20,677 cybercrime awareness campaigns and operations across Rajasthan and Telangana, arresting 75 cybercriminals linked to over 4,000 cases nationwide. The bureau’s innovative tools like CyCaps and ICACCOPS, training programs for 850 cyber warriors, and establishment of Child Protection Unit (CPU), cyber academies have increased the efforts against online exploitation. TGCSB also contributed to the central SAMANWAY portal and developed a standard operating procedure (SOP) for cybercrime investigations.
The TGCSB has urged citizens to remain vigilant against cyber fraud and report suspicious activities that they notice through the TGCSB helpline 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in.