Vizag People Lost Rs.100 Crore to Cybercrime: NCRP Data

Visakhapatnam: The Visakhapatnam cybercrime police have successfully recovered rs.4.33 crore and disbursed the amount among 150 victims, who fell prey to various cybercrimes. This development marks a major step towards justice for the victims of cyber fraud, said city police commissioner Shankhabrata Bagchi addressing a press conference here on Thursday. He emphasized the importance of timely reporting in recovering money from cybercrime and urged the victims to make use of available resources such as the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) and helpline numbers (www.cybercrime.gov.in & 1930) for immediate assistance in recovering lost funds.

Several victims who received their recovered amount shared their experiences of falling victim to elaborate scams. Satyanand, a noted trainer in film industry, shared his story: "I've trained several successful actors and actresses, including Pawan Kalyan. In August 2023, I received a call from someone claiming to be an IAS officer, asking me to book a site. Trusting my stature in the film industry, I fell for the ruse. Later, the caller requested money for documents, and I ended up transferring Rs.1.05 lakh. Upon realising it was a scam, I reported it. I have since recovered Rs.35,000."

The highest reported loss was Rs.3 crore, with the victim recovering Rs.65 lakh. Similarly, a victim named Raghu lost Rs.47 lakh and recovered Rs.26 lakh, while Sattibabu lost Rs.1.11 crore and recovered Rs.13 lakh. Appala Raju, another victim, lost Rs.4 lakh and recovered Rs.25,000. Another victim, a woman involved in stock market trading since 2018, recounted her ordeal: "I received a call one day and invested Rs.7.15 lakh, only to discover it was all fraudulent, and I lost everything." The NCRP data shows that nearly 13,000 victims in Vizag city alone have lost a staggering amount of Rs.100 crore in cybercrimes. These victims fall prey to various types of cyber fraud including FedEx courier scams, stock market investment frauds, part-time job/task game frauds, cryptocurrency frauds and fake calls posing as credit card bill payment notifications. Out of the lost Rs.100 crore, Rs.18 crore was traced to various bank accounts involved in fraudulent activities.