“About 27 lakh complaints of cyber frauds were registered in the country in last one year,” Shah told news agency PTI.He also emphasised that 99.5% of police stations across India are now connected to the central government’s Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS). This network facilitates investigation, data analytics, research, policy formulation, and citizen services.”
Government provided systems to catch cyber frauds, says Shah
The home minister noted that previously there was no system to go after cyber frauds but now there’s a toll free number on which the general public can register their complaints.
“We have made provisions for accounts to freeze. People started registering complaints and within seconds, accounts get frozen (when there is a case of cyber fraud),” he said.
Shah noted that the cyber fraud cases in India have not gone up but “frauds are getting detected now. We have also made available a toll free number. That’s why it is getting highlighted”. Due to successful resolution of such complaints, people have been calling on that number, he added.
Shah on role of home ministry in curbing cyber frauds
The cyber fraud cases are mostly handled by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), which is a wing under the cyber and information security division of the Union Home Ministry.
The I4C has been “continuously monitoring and blocking” cyber crime infrastructure like Skype accounts, advertisements on Google and Meta, SMS headers, SIM cards, bank accounts etc.
Referring to the CCTNS, the home minister said the government has made efforts to bring all police stations under the network for the convenience of policing in the country.
“It is almost complete. About 99.5% of police stations are now connected with the network. Just 0.5% are left. That is because of connectivity issues. The police stations which are left out may be located in very interior areas, on a hill top or in a jungle,” he said.