Amaravati: A total of Rs 940 crore was lost to cyber criminals in Andhra Pradesh in the last three years and the recovery rate was only 0.87 percent.
An analysis of the complaints lodged at the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal under the Union Home Ministry, has revealed that of the Rs 940 crore that was lost, only Rs 8.26 crore was recovered while another Rs 140.40 crore was frozen in banks.
There have been various kinds of cyber crime incidents ranging from packets containing drugs with the victim's name being seized to fake calls from police or customs department threatening of arrest. Also, there were fake bank calls asking victims to update their credit or debit cards and asking for OTPs for KYC updation. Incidents of luring victims to make money by trading in stocks or crypto currency have also surfaced.
Tracking the cyber criminals and recovering money has become a big challenge for the police since the accused are mostly based in different countries.
Notably, 3,572 cyber crimes were registered in the state during the TDP regime between 2014-18 while 9,849 cases were registered during the YSRCP regime between 2019-23.
Overall, around Rs 150 crore is lost every year in thefts, robberies and other crimes in the state. Of which, police are able to recover 50 to 60 percent of the amount. However, when it comes to cyber crimes, on an average Rs 313 crore is lost every year, but not even one percent is recovered.
With cyber fraud becoming a major problem, the state government is set to come up with cyber commandos for generating awareness among public. Students will be taught to become cyber citizens and training will be imparted for enhancing the skills and abilities of the investigating officers to solve cyber crime cases.
Also, a separate cyber forensic department will be established and a helpline will be set up to record cyber crime complaints, officials said.
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