Cyber fraudsters dupe 256 people of Rs 70 lakh in May

The Covid-induced lockdown and more use of online platforms for purchase of essentials and other commodities during the difficult times have prompted cyber criminals to strike with impunity.
Debabrata Mohapatra
  • Updated On Jun 2, 2021 at 05:54 PM IST

BHUBANESWAR: The Covid-induced lockdown and more use of online platforms for purchase of essentials and other commodities during the difficult times have prompted cyber criminals to strike with impunity.

At least 256 people were duped of nearly Rs 70.78 lakh by unknown cyber criminals in the capital city during the lockdown 1.0 and 2.0 in May this year.

The cyber help desk (7440006709) of the commissionerate police had received complaints from the 256 people last month. "We found that most of the complainants lost their money while placing online orders, either food, liquor, household articles and home appliances. Altogether 63 people lost their money through UPI fraud and 48 people were cheated while making transactions through debit and credit cards. Our help desk personnel promptly intervened and recovered around Rs 12 lakh," deputy commissioner of police Uma Shankar Dash said.

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Police sources said most victims found fraudulent withdrawal of money from their accounts after they clicked phishing and suspicious mails or links on cashback offers. In some cases the victims, who were not conversant with online transactions, shared their passwords after being tricked by the cyber crooks. "We have been sensitizing people not to share their account details and PIN with strangers. Banks too have been sending awareness messages to their customers," Dash said.

The commissionerate police registered 123 cyber crime cases in 2020 as compared to 124 such cases in 2019. However, cyber crime cases increased alarmingly by nearly 31% in 2020 as compared to 2019.

Altogether 1,931 cyber crime cases were registered last year as against 1,475 cases in 2019. Police sources said bulk of the cases were reported during the lockdown days last year.

A few days ago, director general of police Abhay cautioned people against cyber criminals, who are out to cash in on the Covid-19 crisis. Police said the cyber criminals have created fake websites and lured people to register for Covid vaccination. "During the process, they would collect all vital personal and financial information from victims and cheat people. The government's CoWin portal, Aarogya Setu and Umang Apps are the only three official and credible gateways of registering for vaccination," police said.

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Amid the rise in demand for medical oxygen, medicines and other medical supplies that are essential for Covid treatment, some cyber crooks have entered cyberspace targetting people in distress. Police said some fake websites are luring people on the pretext of conducting their Covid tests, treatment and collection of samples.

  • Published On Jun 2, 2021 at 05:54 PM IST
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