Officially, Bengalureans lost over Rs. 3 crore to online fraudsters in 31 cases of phishing, lottery scams, job frauds and online matrimonial frauds last year. But that could be just the tip of the iceberg. Moreover, it is the ingenious methods used that investigators are struggling to unravel.
Many victims turn up at the Cyber Crime Police Stations, but most do not convert their complaints into a First Information Report (FIR) due to the indifference of the police.
Eighteen cases were registered in the Cyber Crime Station on the campus of the State CID office, which is the first such police station in the State. Interestingly, the station receives as many as six complaints every day.
“But police personnel are often sceptical of the cases, as they unaware of the methods used by the perpetrators. Thus, many complainants are turned away. Some complainants back off fearing being exposed in the media,” Pavan Duggal, Supreme Court advocate and cyber law expert, said.
However, a CID official said, “Each probe is extremely complex as fraudsters often operate from overseas. Secondly, the money is deposited by victims in various bank accounts, given by fraudsters, often in branches outside Karnataka. However, we have managed to freeze the account on time in some cases and helped the victims get a refund.”
Few cases crackedMr. Duggal expressed dismay at the number of cases registered against the number of complaints. The chance of conviction also remains slim.
The number of cases cracked and culprits apprehended remain small. Out of the 18 cases registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station, 17 are under probe and one was declared a false complaint.
“Cases of online frauds, including culprits targeting women through marriage portals, sale of exotic medicines for various ailments and hacking, have gone up in the last few years,” said a senior investigating officer.
Biggest loserThe biggest loss in cyber fraud was reported last May. A BPO from Kadubeesanahalli claimed to have lost over Rs. 99 lakh when the firm fell for a phishing mail.
The case was reported at the Cyber Crime Police Station at the State CID campus. The complainant, a representative of the firm, stated that they received an email requesting transfer of the sum from an overseas company whose resources they were using on contract basis.
The BPO received an email demanding payment. The sum was transferred to the given bank account. Later, it came to light that a fraudster had posed as a representative of overseas firm and demanded the payment. He had altered an alphabet in the official email ID, which was not noticed by the recipient.
As a result, the money was transferred to an overseas bank account, police sources said.
The case is under investigation.
Crime file
Year | Reported | Charge sheeted | Declared as false | Declared unable to crack | Under investigation |
2015 | 18 | - | 1 | - | 17 |
2014 | 50 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 21 |
2013 | 49 | 7 | 13 | 12 | 15 |
2012 | 39 | 12 | 13 | 6 | 4 |
2011 | 35 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 2 |
Cases in 2015
Stations | No. of cases
CID complex | 18 |
Commissionerate | 13 |
Mysuru | 1 |
Mangaluru | 7 |
Davangere | 1 |
Dharwad | 6 |
Kalaburagi | 1 |
