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Cybercrimes in Telangana up by 18% this year: Report
As per the report released on Monday, around 1,14,174 complaints have been registered in 2024 through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP)
In Telangana, there has been an increase by 18% in cybercrime cases in 2024 compared to last year, but the monetary loss caused to the people went up by a 140%, an annual report released by the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) said.
As per the report released on Monday, around 1,14,174 complaints have been registered in 2024 through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) while, the victims suffered losses amounting to ₹1,866.90 crore during 2024.
“This is compared to the 91,652 cybercrime cases registered in 2023 and the monetary loss of ₹778 crore caused to the victims,” TGCSB director Shikha Goel said at a press conference.
The Cyberabad area of Hyderabad registered the highest number of 25,112 cases, followed by the rest of Hyderabad (20,299), Rachakonda (14,815), Warangal (3,531) and Sanga Reddy (3,132).
She said there was a significant improvement in the refund of victims’ money seized from cybercriminals – it was ₹8.36 crore in 2023 and this year, it was ₹176 crore.
“A total of 1,057 cybercriminals involved in 19,653 cases in Telangana were arrested. The TGCSB alone arrested 186 cybercriminals involved in 94 cases,” she said.
Apart from cracking down on cybercriminals operating from various parts of the country, police also blocked 14,984 SIM cards, 9,811 IMEI numbers and 1,825 websites this year.
The TGCSB director explained how Chinese nationals based in Cambodia were exploiting Indian youth for cyber fraud. “Job seekers were lured with promises of job opportunities, flown to Bangkok on tourist visas via travel agents, and subsequently moved to Cambodia and Vietnam. There, they were forced to work as telecallers for cybercrime operations,” she said.
She said 30 such victims were safely rescued from Cambodia. In the course of the investigation, 20 travel agents involved in this racket have been arrested.
She also pointed out how the TGCSB conducted its first interstate operation by launching a major crackdown in Rajasthan, arresting 27 individuals involved in over 2,000 cybercrime cases nationwide, including 189 cases in Telangana. Data-driven investigations also led to identification and arrest of 1,057 fraudsters linked to cybercrime.
The bureau has also mapped 325 cybercrime hotspots across India, none of which are in Telangana.
Goel said in order to check the rising cybercrime menace and enhance enforcement measures, the state government had organised 20,677 awareness campaigns, trained 850 “cyber warriors” for investigation, and began implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to handle calls on the 1930 cyber crime helpline.
She said investment fraud (business/shares), fake part-time job offers, digital arrest scams, fraudulent customer care numbers, and debit/credit card scams are among the most common cybercrimes reported in Telangana.
Through these scams, scamsters have targeted individuals of all age-groups, putting them in a great financial crisis., she added.
