Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Cyber Security Department has launched a detailed investigation after two individuals in Coimbatore lost a combined total of Rs 31 lakh in separate cyber fraud incidents.
According to the police, Siva Kumar (40), a resident of Anbu Nagar in Edayarpalayam, was deceived by fraudsters who offered him a fake managerial job in Japan.
The scammers conducted an online interview and even issued a bogus appointment letter. Under the pretext of resolving issues related to visa processing, they extracted Rs 22 lakh from him in multiple instalments.
When Kumar did not receive the promised flight tickets, he filed a complaint with the cybercrime police.
In another case, Karthik (33), a bank employee from Saravanampatti, was duped in a money-doubling scam. He received an SMS promising high returns on investment and ended up losing Rs 9 lakh before realising it was a fraud.
Cybercrime police have registered separate cases for both incidents, and investigations are ongoing.
In 2024 alone, the Cyber Crime Wing (CCW) of the Tamil Nadu Police has frozen a total of Rs 771.98 crore lost to various cyber frauds and successfully returned Rs 83.34 crore to victims.
Operating under the National Cyber Crime Helpline (1930), the CCW filed 4,326 First Information Reports (FIRs) and generated 79,449 Community Service Registers (CSRs), with the total reported loss amounting to Rs 1,673.85 crore.
Last year, the CCW arrested 838 individuals, with 34 detained under the stringent Goondas Act.
Additionally, through the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR), the wing recovered 16,296 stolen mobile phones and blocked 79,748 International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers.
The CCW handled 2,68,875 calls and registered 34,392 online fraud complaints.
As part of Operation ‘Thiraineekku’, a statewide crackdown carried out from December 6 to 8, 2024, the department apprehended 76 suspects across Tamil Nadu, following directives from DGP Shankar Jiwal.
The Cyber Crime Wing consists of three divisions: The State Cyber Command Centre, the State Cyber Crime Investigation, and Cyber Arangam.
Cyber Arangam focusses on public awareness to prevent cyber and mobile-related frauds.
It conducted 972 awareness events in schools, 856 in colleges, and 5,878 in public areas.
The CCW urges the public to remain vigilant and immediately report any cybercrime by calling the toll-free helpline 1930 or lodging a complaint at www.cybercrime.gov.in.
(IANS)
