The number of digital arrest scams and related cybercrimes in the country almost tripled between 2022 and 2024, with defrauded amounts skyrocketing by 21 times during the period, Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday.
Replying to a question, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, furnished data of digital arrest scams and related cybercrimes reported on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) in the last three years, which showed 39,925 such incidents being reported in 2022 with a total defrauded amount of Rs 91.14 crore.
In 2024, the number of such cases almost tripled to 1,23,672, with the total defrauded amount reported on the portal increasing by a staggering 21 times to Rs 19,35.51 crore, the data showed.
According to the data, within two months of 2025, 17,718 cases with a total defrauded amount of Rs 210.21 crore have been reported till February 28.
"Cybercrime incidents reported on this portal, their conversion into FIRs and subsequent action thereon are handled by the state/UT law enforcement agencies concerned, as per the provisions of the law," Kumar said.
The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) set up by the Union Home Ministry has proactively identified and blocked more than 3,962 Skype IDs and 83,668 WhatsApp accounts used for digital arrest, the minister said.
The Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System was launched in 2021 under I4C for immediate reporting of financial frauds and to stop the siphoning of funds by fraudsters.
"So far, financial amount of more than Rs 4,386 crore has been saved in over 13.36 lakh complaints. A toll-free helpline number — 1930 — has been operationalised for assistance in lodging online cyber complaints," Kimar said.
To curb the menace, the minister said, I4C in collaboration with the department of telecommunications (DoT) has launched a caller tune campaign for raising awareness about cybercrime and promoting the helpline number 1930 and NCRP.
"The caller tune is also being played in regional languages, delivered 7-8 times a day by the telecom service providers (TSPs)," the minister said.
In response to a separate question on the issue, Kumar said the Central government and the TSPs have devised a system to identify and block incoming international spoofed calls displaying Indian mobile numbers that appear to be originating from within India.
"Directions have been issued to the TSPs for blocking of such incoming international spoofed calls. Till February 28, 2025, more than 7.81 lakh SIM cards and 2,08,469 IMEIs, as reported by police authorities, have been blocked by the government of India," Kumar said.
Answering another query, the minister said that 14C launched a suspect registry of cyber criminals on September 10, 2024, in collaboration with banks and financial institutions.
"So far, more than eight lakh suspect records and over 20 lakh mule accounts have been shared with the participating entities of the suspect registry, saving more than Rs 2,889 crore," Kumar said.
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