Telangana: Weapons Are Passé, Criminals Use Fear, Greed To Rob You

 Hyderabad: In the past, criminals would use weapons to rob people. However, now criminals operating in the cyber world exploit victims' greed and fear to steal vast amounts of money.

In recent times, fraud schemes such as digital arrest frauds and investment scams have surged. These fraudsters operate not only from different states but also from foreign countries.

For digital arrest scams, criminals use people’s fear as a tool to rob them. For example, they impersonate officials from well-known organisations or from Central agencies like the CBI, Enforcement Directorate and income-tax department as well as the police. They focus on victims who panic and react hastily to their calls.

In investment scams, the modus operandi often involves enticing victims with initial high returns on fake investments to gain their trust. Once the victims receive initial small sums and gain confidence, the fraudsters extract large sums and then cut off communication, moving on to their next target.

According to a cybercrime officer, "If the victim ignores these calls, they are safe. If they panic or act out of greed, they fall into the trap. The best course of action is to ignore such calls or messages to protect one's hard-earned money."

Researchers from the sociology department of Oxford University, in their study ‘Mapping Global Geophysical Cybercrime with the World Cybercrime Index’, identified 15 countries with the highest rates of cybercrime. India ranked 10th. They also estimated that by the end of 2024, global cybercrime-related losses will exceed $9.4 trillion.

According to NCRB data, 52,947 cybercrime cases were reported in 2021. This number increased by 24 per cent in 2022, with 65,893 cases. Post-COVID, cybercrime has risen by 49 per cent.

A senior police officer said that Telangana’s Integrated Command Control Centre (ICCC) is among the best in the country, utilising advanced technology to detect fraudsters. In contrast, some states rely on private companies to manage CCTV data, but Telangana’s tech-savvy officials from TGCSB and the city cyber cell have cutting-edge tools, resulting in the recent arrests of 18 cybercriminals across various states.

Data from the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) show that between May 2023 and August 2024, 1,37,370 modus operandi (MO) cases were registered, with over 1,400 fraudsters arrested for frauds totaling over Rs 298 crore.

The state police have recovered or frozen over 40 per cent of the lost money, amounting to more than Rs 1.16 crore. Of the 1,369 individuals arrested, 844 were taken into custody directly, and 549 were detained after being served notices, according to cybercrime sources.

In the past, TGCSB sought the court’s intervention to recover and refund stolen money. Now, to expedite the process, the bureau collaborates with Lok Adalat, as revealed by a TGCSB officer.

It is reported that cybercrime losses across India have exceeded Rs 1.14 crore, with over 26,110 cases reported in Telangana alone.

Crime gangs get offshored

According to the Bureau of Investigation (BOI) data, between January 2022 and May 2024, 73,138 Indians from states like Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Punjab (the highest), and Maharashtra travelled on visit visas to Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar. Of these, 29,466 have not returned.

Many of these individuals, predominantly from middle-class families, are reportedly recruited by international cybercriminals to target India due to their fluency in Hindi and English. Hundreds of these people have been rescued after they realised they were trapped, and called for help.

Cybercriminals based in foreign countries are said to be hiring Indians and offering them large salaries to help them in executing these scams. Both the BOI and National Crimes Records Bureau (NCRB) are aware of this issue, as confirmed by a senior cybercrime officer.

Recently, S.P. Oswal, the chairman of the Vardhaman Group in Ludhiana, was defrauded of Rs 6.9 crore by CBI imposters in a "digital arrest" scam. The accused were apprehended, and over Rs 5 crore was recovered.