Cyber Crime Police of Hyderabad have arrested 47 people across seven states in connection with 36 cybercrime cases, following a special crackdown on fraud networks operating across the country.
Arrests Made Across Seven States
The arrests were made in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
Police arrested 15 people in Telangana, 14 in Andhra Pradesh, eight in Delhi, four in Maharashtra, four in Karnataka, one in Haryana and one in Uttar Pradesh.
The 36 cases were registered following complaints received through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. During the month, the Cyber Crime Police Station received several complaints and registered 65 FIRs.
Proposal for Conducting Cyber Crisis Drill, Tabletop Exercise (TTEx) & CCMP Readiness Exercise
What Types of Cyber Fraud Were Involved?
Investment and trading frauds accounted for the largest share of the cases linked to those arrested.
Of the 47 people arrested, 16 were linked to investment fraud, 12 to trading fraud and seven to social media-related offences. Others were allegedly involved in OTP fraud, impersonation, job fraud, credit card fraud, APK-related offences and advertisement fraud.
What Did Police Seize?
Police seized 28 mobile phones, three cheque books, three SIM cards, one debit card, one laptop, one router, one hard disk and one Apple iPad during the operations.
Investigators said a major focus of the drive was recovering money lost by cyber fraud victims.
Rs 99.79 Lakh Refunded to Victims
Police said Rs 99.79 lakh was refunded to victims during August through different recovery and restoration efforts.
The total reported loss in the 34 cases covered under the refund details was around Rs 17.78 crore.
In one trading fraud case, a Hyderabad resident reportedly lost Rs 25.50 lakh after his mobile phone was lost while travelling by bus. Police arrested three people in connection with the case and seized four mobile phones.
Social Media Profiles Taken Down
Cyber police also intensified online surveillance during August and identified 231 social media profiles allegedly involved in misleading or unlawful promotions.
These included fraudulent investment and betting promotions, fake job offers and other schemes. Police said all 231 profiles were reported to the respective platforms and taken down.
How Large Was the Online Surveillance Drive?
As part of the continuing cyber-patrol programme, police identified 13,317 social media profiles and 2,573 paid advertisements promoting illegal betting, online gaming and fake investment websites.
Nine FIRs were also registered against promoters, while further investigation is continuing.
