Just Rs 41.8 lakh out of the Rs 264 crore has been recovered. In all, the police have managed to recover Rs 12.7 crore out of the Rs 615 crore lost in 10 years, shows the response obtained through RTI by Kalyan’s Yamini N on August 8.
On the upside, the data showed the recovery amount has gone up substantially since 2021 to more than Rs 5 crore so far.
Experts: Staying updated on new cyberfraud tricks crucial
The total financial cyberfraud cases registered in the city between 2013 and June 30, 2023, according to data accessed through RTI as well as Mumbai police statistics, totalled 19,175 at city police stations, including 3,144 at five cyber police stations. The detection rate, though, was merely 9.1%—just 1,740 cases of 19,175 were solved. The recovery rate is also pathetic.
Between 2013 and 2020, it was in the range of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 20 lakh annually. Till June 30 this year, Rs 89 lakh has been recovered. Cyber experts called the 19,000-plus FIRs as just the tip of the iceberg, as many cases are not reported and police often turn a blind eye to those involving small amounts. An average of 58,000 complaints of online banking frauds were registered with the Maharashtra state cyber cell in 2021. These include 14,000 cases from Mumbai alone. “This is the case every year. The amount involved runs into several crores. Yet, barely 600 to 800 cases have resulted in FIRs. Many applications have been turned into noncognizable offences, which do not show up in crime statistics and are not probed unless a court order pushes for it,” said an expert.
Experts said during the pandemic, job, customs, gift, KYC, loan and crypto scams, phishing attacks and sextortion increased. “Covid spelt disaster for the gullible and the careless who surfed the internet and acted on instructions of cyber fraudsters,” said one. For instance, on September 15, 2020, a 37-year-old make-up artist from Santacruz ended up losing Rs 6.45 lakh after she mortgaged her gold jewellery to raise money for a scamster she met on a marriage portal.
On February 6, 2021, a 29-year-old Powai resident learned he lost Rs 11 lakh to a British “female friend” he met on social media. He had taken loans from friends and family to help her as he had lost his job at a five-star hotel during Covid. On August 30, 2021, a 37-year-old homemaker from Borivli lost Rs 2.3 lakh after falling prey to a message sent by fraudsters offering her a work-from-home job. In the message, she was asked to invest money to buy a product and increase the company’s rating for hefty commission.
Cyber expert Ritesh Bhatia said, “A low recovery rate could be due to the complexity of tracing funds in the digital world, lack of support from intermediaries such as banks and payment gateways, the international nature of cybercrime, and difficulties in identifying perpetrators .” Former IPS officer-turned-lawyer Y P Singh said police at best have the expertise to arrest culprits if they are in India. “It is the intermediaries who must be held accountable.
Cyber crime is a low priority for police and neither they have the manpower nor expertise to get into the tedious process of recovery.” Lawyer Prashant Mali said fraudsters often take advantage of gaps in cyber security, inadequate awareness among people and the use of advanced tactics. Collaboration between various agencies and continuous education could help close this gap. Cybercrime is rapidly evolving and staying updated on new tactics is crucial, said experts.
