Bhubaneswar, Sept 5: Cyber criminals have swindled a whopping Rs 19.75 crore from Bhubaneswar during the last two years.
The cyber fraudsters swindled Rs 6.79 crore in 2021 and Rs 12.96 in 2022. However, only 10 percent of victims got back their money. The police managed to recover Rs 1.48 crore in 2021 and Rs 1.23 crore in 2022.
Economist and MD of Wallet 4 Wealth, Trinath Lenka said the cyber fraudsters use benami accounts and shell companies to transfer the money of the victims diverting the investigation process.
It is easy to recover the money if the victim files the complaint within 24 hours of fraud, which is called the golden hour. It takes time for the transfer of the money to the account used by cybercriminals. The transaction can be withheld by informing the bank authorities with the necessary documents to return back the money or to freeze the receiver’s account, said Anjana Tudu, SP (headquarters) Commissionerate Police.
It is easy to trace the first account holder before the withdrawal or transfer of the money to different accounts. The fraudsters use the money to purchase costly articles from e-commerce sites or transfer to several Benami accounts. It is difficult to recover the money from different accounts and e-commerce sites after the distribution of the money, added Tudu.
