Investment frauds top Hyderabad Cybercrime in 2023

Hyderabad cops register 1,271 cases; victims lose Rs 84.44 crore to fraudsters

Hyderabad:  Investment fraud cases have seen a significant increase in the cybercrimes reported in the city in the year 2023. The Hyderabad Cybercrime police station registered 1,271 cases of investment fraud with the victims losing a whopping Rs 84.44 crore to fraudsters. Standing second in the list are trading fraud cases which registered a jump from 13 in 2022 to 34 this year with victims losing about Rs 8.47 crore to fraudsters.

A significant rise was also witnessed in the customs fraud case with about 40 cases reported this year and victims losing Rs 2.65 crore while in the customer care fraud 160 cases were reported where victims lost Rs 3.61 crore.

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Hyderabad Police Commissioner K Sreenivasa Reddy said the cybercrime teams were equipped with the latest technology to detect the cases, identify the perpetrators, and arrest them. “In 2023, the police had arrested around 169 persons who were involved in cyber frauds,” he said. During 2023, a total of 2,735 cases were registered at the Cybercrime police station and another 1,597 were registered at local police stations. “The police are creating awareness through different mediums on cyber safety and reaching out to the masses,” he said.

Blackmail, phone harassment cases up

Blackmailing, phone harassment, stalking, and cheating on the pretext of marriage topped the crimes reported at the ‘Bharosa centre’ of the Hyderabad city police. The officials received a total of 982 petitions of which 212 pertained to blackmailing, 185 to phone harassment, 106 on stalking, and 107 cheating on the pretext of marriage. The police booked 612 petty cases while 139 FIRs were registered against the suspects involved in the cases.

Rise in signal jumping cases

Signal jumping, triple riding, and driving on the wrong side violations topped the traffic violations chart in 2023. The traffic police as part of its enforcement drive booked a total of 47,25,089 cases for different violations in the city during the year 2023 and collected a penalty of Rs 71.69 crore. A total of 280 people died in fatal road accidents while another 2,090 were injured. Of the total deaths in road accidents 121 were pedestrians and the highest were beggars with 23 deaths followed by 18 jaywalkers. In 2022, a total of 275 people had died in road accidents in the city.