Odisha Cybercrime Cases: 727 arrests and Rs 222 Cr Looted in 16 months

Bhubaneswar: Odisha is still having a lot of problems with cyber crime. In just 16 months, 3,486 people lost an amazing Rs 222-plus crores, according to a written response from Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to the assembly on Monday. 69 of the victims were victims of "digital arrest" scams.

In response to Congress MLA Rama Chandra Kadam's question, Chief Minister Majhi said:Cyber criminals stole Rs 2,220,978,647 from people in the last 16 months." Victims got back Rs 6,136,381, while fraudsters' accounts were frozen with Rs 67,409,434. The CM's response said that during the same time, the police arrested 727 people for allegedly being involved in cyber crimes and filed charges in 104 cases.

Investigators say the recovery rate is still low because of things like late reporting. Officials said that complaints made after the fact make it much less likely that stolen money will be found. Police say that the Centre's national cybercrime reporting portal (www.cybercrime.gov.in) is the first line of defense. It lets people freeze their accounts when they file a complaint.

"We have a hard time getting back money that was stolen if the victims report it late. If you are a victim of online financial fraud, you should call 1930 right away and report it to www.cybercrime.gov.in.

Majhi stressed that the government is cracking down on cyber fraud networks and making digital security stronger.