Hyderabad: The Cyberabad commissionerate zone witnessed a significant increase in cybercrime cases in 2023 with the police registering 5342 cases. Victims of these crimes lost Rs 232.34 crore to the conmen.
Last year, the police had booked 4850 cases.
Avinash Mohanty, Cyberabad Commissioner of Police said the cybercrimes are increasing due to the increased use of the internet by people across all segments of the society.
“People should call cybercrime helpline 1930 if they become a victim of cybercrime. Firstly, people should not solicit calls/messages/emails from unknown sources and show utmost care when answering phone calls/WhatsApp calls,” advised the Commissioner of Police, Cyberabad.
The police chased down 168 cybercrime cases and arrested 339 accused persons.
However, officials acknowledge that the detection rate of cybercrime cases remains a cause of concern.
“Cyber criminals operate from all around the world and catching them is difficult unlike in conventional crimes where clues are easier to find,” said a Cybercrime police official.
In 2023, the most important case was the arrest of six people from New Delhi who were involved in loan fraud. The police recovered Rs. 41.23 lakh cash from them.
The Cyberabad police wrote to various financial institutions and got an amount of Rs. 46 crores frozen and transferred illegally to bank accounts by cyber fraudsters.
The overall crime rate in Cyberabad increased by around 14 percent in the year 2023 and officials attribute it to the population growth in the area. A total of 29156 cases were registered in 2023, as compared to 27322 the previous year.