Online fraud topped the list as complaints of cyber crime in Navi Mumbai witnessed a 248% rise in 2019.
Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar said, “Cyber fraud is a social problem. It can be tackled only with awareness and education. We have circulated pamphlets, booklets and messages through banks asking people to be alert. Detecting such cases in the virtual world is challenging as many platforms and websites that commit fraud are based abroad.”
In 2019, of the 417 complaints received, 354 were disposed of. In 2018, all 120 complaints were disposed of. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Pravinkumar Patil said, “Many complaints were disposed of after fraudulent transactions were reversed by the bank. However, reversal is possible only if the complainant approaches us immediately and the accused has not withdrawn the money.”
Mr. Patil said the police help victims track the accused when their social media accounts have been hacked. “If the culprit turns out to be an acquaintance, the victim takes back the complaint. Victims also take back complaints when we block fake accounts opened in their name. Complaints that need further investigation are disposed of and transferred to the local police stations.”
Last year, 62 FIRs were registered, of which 23 were based on complaints of cheating due to sharing of one-time passwords. Collectively, such cases caused victims a loss of ₹37.36 lakh, while the total loss recorded in cyber crime complaints was ₹2.42 crore.
The maximum loss of ₹85.94 lakh was suffered by four complainants who were cheated by people they befriended on Facebook.
While no complaints are pending from 2018, the police still need to look into 63 complaints filed in 2019. Mr. Kumar said, “With the rise in cyber crime, we are planning to expand our team, hold periodic training sessions for our officers, and hire a cyber expert.”
