Kurukshetra police refunds Rs 1.7 crore to cybercrime victims in 2024

In a relief to some cybercrime victims, the Kurukshetra police managed to get about Rs 5.55 crore seized in various bank accounts last year, operated by cyber fraudsters, of which Rs 1.70 crore was refunded to the victims after following the due procedure.

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Similarly, this year so far about Rs 34.52 lakh was seized in bank accounts of which Rs 3.51 lakh was refunded.

A Kurukshetra police spokesman said though advisories were issued time to time to make people aware about the cyber frauds, fraudulent activities and sophisticated scams, the people got lured on various pretexts. The fraudsters lure people with pension schemes, fake loan apps, parcels without orders and hacking a person's email, and social media accounts. They also target people by posing as officials of the CBI, customs, ED, Income Tax Department and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and threaten people in fake money laundering cases, fake parcels containing drugs and showing relatives in distress.

“They also dupe people by offering Telegram tasks, attractive investment and handsome returns in a very short period. While of Rs 5.50 crore seized in accounts Rs 1.70 crore was refunded in 2024, out of Rs 34.52 lakh seized this year, Rs 3.51 lakh has been refunded this year so far and efforts are being made to refund the remaining amounts too at the earliest”, he added.

In a couple of instances, in which the money was refunded, in November 2024, a man was duped of Rs 35.65 lakh by the fraudsters posing as custom officials. The victim was threatened on the pretext of narcotics substance recovered from a parcel sent by the victim. A case was registered and Rs 13 lakh was seized in the bank account, of which Rs 7 lakh was refunded to the victim, while the remaining would be refunded soon.

In December last year, a resident of Kheri Markanda was duped on the pretext of online gaming and he lost Rs 47,500 in the online scam. However, after a case was registered, the police managed to recover and refund the entire amount.

Kurukshetra Superintendent of Police Varun Singla, said the police were making sincere efforts to make people aware of the tactics and fraudulent activities of the cyber fraudsters. Soon after getting the complaint, efforts were made to get the money seized in the bank accounts and get it refunded. But self-awareness was very important in such situations because with the time the fraudsters had changed their tactics.

“In such a situation, the general public should take care that they keep their Internet media accounts and banking apps safely locked and avoid sharing their personal information with anyone. The residents should disconnect calls from the callers who pose as officials of the CBI, crime branch and bank officials and report the matter to the police or the cyber helpline 1930,” he added.