Mumbai, Apr 13 (PTI) Helpline number 1930 is becoming a potent weapon in Mumbai police’s fight against cyber crime in the last three years, with the number of complaints crossing the one lakh figure this week and the amount saved on behalf of victims standing at a whopping Rs 241 crore, an official said on Sunday.

The helpline, which is being used by Mumbai police’s cyber wing since May 17, 2022, started with six lines but has since grown to 22 lines and an entire posse of constables and officials working round the clock every day to ensure citizens of the metropolis do not fall prey to online fraudsters, he added.

As financial frauds and cyber crimes increase every passing day, especially in the last two years, Mumbai police is taking the fight to those involved with an array of advanced technology and equipment, the senior official told PTI.

“We also have a strong follow-up team that coordinates with all stakeholders, including banks, financial institutions, Reserve Bank of India, law enforcement agencies of various states etc to tackle cyber crime. We receive around 1500 complaints on 1930 every day. This Friday, the cumulative figure of complaints crossed one lakh,” he said.

“As on Saturday, the figure stands at 1,01,069. The amount saved due to timely action is Rs 241,42,11,827,” Cyber Wing Deputy Commissioner of Police Datta Nalawade informed.

Amid a rise in cyber frauds, including promising high returns on share trading, rewards for tasks, digital arrest as well as phone and email hacking, the Mumbai police has permanently blocked 8,214 mobile phone SIM cards used for such activities, he said.

“Even highly qualified people like senior bank personnel, doctors, engineers, government officials are losing lakhs of rupees in such frauds. We are taking all efforts to sensitise Mumbaikars to not fall prey to such modus operandi. As cases increase, cyber crime has become the biggest challenge of our times,” the DCP asserted.

In the last three years, Mumbaikars have lost Rs 1,922 crore to cyber fraudsters, Nalawade pointed out.

However, the silver lining is that the ratio of money of victims being saved is also rising, he said, adding that the figure stood at Rs 51 crore since January this year.

Another official said a major tool in the fight against the menace is the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal created by the Union Home Ministry, to which all banks and financial institutions are connected.

“When a person loses money to a cyber fraudster, it goes into some bank account, UPI ID or wallet and or any other mode of deposit. Cyber criminals will then divert this money online to various channels, or make purchases or withdraw it,” he said.

Alerting the 1930 helpline in time means police can get on this money trail almost immediately by logging on to this portal, contacting banks to freeze accounts and block money etc, all of which increases the chances of it being recovered and given back to victims, he said.

“Time is crucial. While there is the term golden hour, in cyber crime this turns into golden 15 minutes. The faster we are alerted, the better the chances of money recovery and arrest of cyber criminals,” the official said.

Giving an example, he said a power firm recently lost Rs 11.34 crore to online fraudsters, of which Rs 11.20 crore could be retrieved because its staffers contacted helpline 1930 immediately.

“Saving people’s hard earned money gives us tremendous satisfaction. Most instances of money not getting retrieved is due to people realising late that they have been cheated. Passage of time allows fraudsters to withdraw money,” said Sub Inspector Nivrutti Bavaskar of the cyber police station, which monitors such operations.

Bavaskar said motivation from the top officials of the force like Mumbai police commissioner Vivek Phansalkar and Joint Commissioner (Crime) Lakhmi Gautam was playing a huge role in the robustness of this fight.

“We also get rewards from our seniors for saving people’s money. But the satisfaction we get because we know this is hard earned money of citizens is bigger than rewards,” he asserted. PTI DC BNM