Visakhapatnam: Money lost by the people of Vizag in cybercrimes saw a massive 566 per cent jump from Rs 17.3 crore in 2022 to Rs 115.3 crore in 2024. On an average, this amounts to Rs 31 lakh per day.
To put the impact of cybercrimes into perspective, the total amount stolen by cyber crooks is more than ten times the total losses incurred due to thefts, robbery, snatching and dacoity in Vizag city.
In an alarming trend, many people lost huge amounts of money due to digital arrest, investment fraud and task job frauds in the first ten months of 2024.
According to Visakhapatnam police commissioner Shanka Brata Bagchi, the total number of cybercrime cases reported in 2024 were less when compared to previous years, but the financial impact has been substantial.
While Vizag city witnessed 613 cybercrimes in 2022, 419 in 2023 and 364 (upto Dec 22) in 2024, cyber crooks stole Rs 17.3 crore, Rs 33.46 crore and Rs 115.3 crore in 2022, 2023 and 2024 respectively, the police commissioner said and added that a total of Rs 26 crore was frozen and over Rs 4 crore was released to victims in the past three years, Shanka Brata Bagchi added.
Cybercrime inspectors K Bhavani Prasad and BMD Prasad said that the most concerning part about cybercrimes is that tech savvy students and private employees are falling prey to it the most.
Meanwhile, DGP Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao said that a total of 916 cyber crimes were reported in 2024 in Andhra Pradesh as against 682 in 2023. The amount lost to cyber crooks has gone up by many times. A whopping Rs 1,229 crore was lost in cybercrimes of which Rs 225 crore was recovered in 2024, he added.
Sources within the police department said that the actual number of cybercrimes and the amounts involved could be higher, as some of the victims didn’t reach out to the police due to various reasons. The police attributed the low recovery rate in cyber crime cases to several factors, including delays in victims reporting the incidents, number of challenges in obtaining information from intermediaries and service providers, and the involvement of crooks operating from other states and even abroad.
To put the impact of cybercrimes into perspective, the total amount stolen by cyber crooks is more than ten times the total losses incurred due to thefts, robbery, snatching and dacoity in Vizag city.
In an alarming trend, many people lost huge amounts of money due to digital arrest, investment fraud and task job frauds in the first ten months of 2024.
According to Visakhapatnam police commissioner Shanka Brata Bagchi, the total number of cybercrime cases reported in 2024 were less when compared to previous years, but the financial impact has been substantial.
While Vizag city witnessed 613 cybercrimes in 2022, 419 in 2023 and 364 (upto Dec 22) in 2024, cyber crooks stole Rs 17.3 crore, Rs 33.46 crore and Rs 115.3 crore in 2022, 2023 and 2024 respectively, the police commissioner said and added that a total of Rs 26 crore was frozen and over Rs 4 crore was released to victims in the past three years, Shanka Brata Bagchi added.
Cybercrime inspectors K Bhavani Prasad and BMD Prasad said that the most concerning part about cybercrimes is that tech savvy students and private employees are falling prey to it the most.
Meanwhile, DGP Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao said that a total of 916 cyber crimes were reported in 2024 in Andhra Pradesh as against 682 in 2023. The amount lost to cyber crooks has gone up by many times. A whopping Rs 1,229 crore was lost in cybercrimes of which Rs 225 crore was recovered in 2024, he added.
Sources within the police department said that the actual number of cybercrimes and the amounts involved could be higher, as some of the victims didn’t reach out to the police due to various reasons. The police attributed the low recovery rate in cyber crime cases to several factors, including delays in victims reporting the incidents, number of challenges in obtaining information from intermediaries and service providers, and the involvement of crooks operating from other states and even abroad.
