'Not easy to recover money lost in cyber frauds'

On November 26 last year, 36-year-old Kandivli resident Chinmay Dash was robbed of Rs1.75 lakh by cyber criminals who transferred the money out of his bank account and deactivated the SIM card of his mobile so that he did not get SMS alerts about the money transfers. Four months later, Dash's money is yet to be recovered.

On November 26 last year, 36-year-old Kandivli resident Chinmay Dash was robbed of Rs 1.75 lakh by cyber criminals who transferred the money out of his bank account and deactivated the SIM card of his mobile so that he did not get SMS alerts about the money transfers. Four months later, Dash's money is yet to be recovered.

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Recovery of money lost in e-frauds is often a long and cumbersome procedure and on most occasions, the amount is never recovered, said cyber experts.

Dash said, "I am no longer hopeful of getting the money back. While the police have not made any arrests, the bank and mobile service provider have washed their hands off the case by saying that they are not to be blamed. The police, in fact, even asked me how it would benefit me if the perpetrators were arrested as the chances of recovering the amount are poor."

N Kamble, senior inspector of Samta Nagar police station who is investigating the case said, "We are investigating the matter and have made some progress." He, however, refused to divulge details, saying that it would hamper the investigation.

"Besides, the police are crippled owing to jurisdictional issues. The amount that is fraudulently withdrawn is usually transferred to accounts elsewhere in the country and the receiving accounts are registered under fake names. So the police is seldom able to arrest the user," said Mukhi.