PANAJI
The Goa Police have expressed concern that many victims of cyber crimes are unaware of the 24-hour helpline available to report such incidents.
Speaking at a press conference in Panaji today, Superintendent of Police (Cyber Crime) Rahul Gupta highlighted the issue while also identifying three major factors that lead to victims being exploited by cybercriminals -- greed, ignorance and misplaced early trust.
"It has come to light that many victims are not aware that there is a cyber crime helpline number functional in Goa to report any kind of financial fraud. Goa Police have a 24x7 helpline at 1930 set up in our Police Control Room," he said
The officer further explained that Cyber criminals exploit people's desire for quick and substantial financial gains and often succeed in gaining their trust.
"Lack of awareness and understanding of cyber threats makes individuals and organizations vulnerable to attacks. Many people are not familiar with common cyber scams, the importance of cybersecurity measures, or how to identify suspicious activities," he added.
The police have urged the public to utilize the helpline to report any suspicious activities promptly.
Gupta further said that there is a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in place detailing what information to obtain from the victim. Thereafter, the details are submitted to the Cyber Crime reporting portal and the process of freezing accounts begins.
"Complainants start receiving messages on their mobile phones about the freezing.
Thereafter, complainants have to visit the local Police Station or Cyber Police Station for further investigation and to start the process of recovering their money. Financial frauds involving amounts below ₹5 Lakh are referred to the local Police Station, while those above ₹5 Lakh are taken up at the Cyber Police Station," he informed as the Cyber Crime Cell has been undertaking awareness campaigns through various platforms.
He also stated that if victims are comfortable with reporting their complaints online, they can file a complaint on cybercrime.gov.in - to report financial fraud and all kinds of cyber crimes, including social media-related cases.
Important highlights
Through the 1930 helpline, the Cyber Crime Cell has frozen ₹3.73 Cr as of now, of which ₹2.71 Cr was frozen this year.
For complaints reported directly on the cybercrime portal, the total frozen amount stands at around ₹3 Cr.
The total money frozen is ₹6.73 Cr. This is money that we have saved from going into the hands of fraudsters
Currently, the Cyber Crime Cell is working on simplifying the process of returning the frozen amount to the victims.
