NEW DELHI: Delhi recorded the highest number of cybercrime complaints in the country in 2023, with 755 cases per 100,000 people, according to data from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C). CEO Rajesh Kumar shared this information on Wednesday. Chandigarh followed with 432 complaints per 100,000 people, and Haryana and Telangana had 381 and 261, respectively. The national rate stands at 129 complaints per 100,000 citizens.

Over 263 banks, e-commerce companies, and other entities have integrated with the helpline number 1930. From 2021 to 2023, ₹1,127 crore was recovered for 430,000 victims. “This system blocked the money within financial channels, increasing the chances of recovery,” Kumar explained. The percentage and absolute amount of money recovered have steadily increased: 6.73% (₹36.38 crore) in 2021, 7.35% (₹169.04 crore) in 2022, and 12.32% (₹921.59 crore) in 2023.

Since the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal launched in August 2019, over 3.26 million complaints have resulted in 66,000 FIRs.

To combat cybercrime, law enforcement and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) began blocking IMEI numbers in 2023 to prevent cybercriminals from accessing the telecom network using existing devices. In 2023, 46,229 IMEI numbers were blocked, in addition to 295,461 SIMs blocked between July and December 2023. Kumar noted that 129,000 SIM cards belonged to one TSP, 89,000 to another, and over 72,000 to a third, without identifying the TSPs.

Hotspots for SIM sales include Odisha, West Bengal, and Assam.

Under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, the I4C blocked 2,810 websites, mainly phishing sites, and 595 mobile apps "against economic and national interests."

Different regions specialize in specific online fraud types. Jharkhand, Bihar, and West Bengal account for 35% of all frauds related to false customer care numbers, fake refunds, and KYC expiry. This region also accounts for 11% of Aadhaar-enabled Payment System (AePS) frauds involving biometric cloning. Haryana’s Nuh, Bharatpur, and Alwar areas are responsible for 24% of online sextortion scams and 22% of online booking, fake franchise, and QR code-based frauds. OLX and e-commerce frauds are also common here. Tamil Nadu specializes in call center and SIM box frauds.

Kumar noted, “Many online frauds originate outside India, in places like Myanmar, Cambodia, Dubai, and China.” Victims are sometimes lured outside India; the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has helped bring some victims back from Myanmar.

The I4C is also tracking the live locations of cybercriminals through their SIM cards on a portal called Pratibimb, developed with the Jharkhand police and launched in November 2023. According to Kumar, this portal enables law enforcement to monitor the movements of criminals, including across state boundaries. It was used to apprehend 454 criminals in Jharkhand during its pilot stage in December.

Date: Jan 04, 2024