Approached in ‘golden hours’, crime branch of the Haryana Police helped a cyber fraud victim in retrieving Rs 30 lakh siphoned off by cyber fraudster from a gaming company in Panchkula.

Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Crime Branch Haryana, OP Singh, on Wednesday, said the chief operating officer of a Panchkula-based gaming company filed a complaint on the cyber crime helpline (1930)  saying an application user had defrauded him of the aforesaid amount.

While preparing the company’s account report on 14 August, it was found that on 11 August,  unauthorised deposits of Rs 35 lakh were made to the wallet of a user, which were transferred by the user from his wallet to his personal account on 12 and 13 August.

As soon as this transaction was detected, the complainant called the user. But the user refused to pay up the amount before switching off the phone. After detection of fraud, a complaint was made to the cyber helpline 1930.

“Immediately, the information provided by the victim in 1930 in ‘golden hours’ resulted in retrieving a defrauded amount Rs 30 lakh by freezing the transaction. A complaint has been registered in this connection at Cyber Police Station, Panchkula and further investigation is underway,” Singh said.

The ADGP said ever since the National Cyber Crime Helpline 1930 was introduced in January this year,  29 cyber police stations have been set up in the state to help the victims of cyber crimes  register their complaints.

“At present, more than 600 calls are being received on 1930 on a daily basis in the state. Our cyber team is saving about Rs 7 lakh per day on this 24-hour hotline. The Crime Branch, which is functioning as a Cyber Nodal Agency, has saved Rs 11 crore after receiving complaints on 1930 during the first seven months (January to July) of 2022. As many as 459 accused have been arrested in this connection,” he added.

Pointing out at the phenomenal increase in the use of computers, smartphones and the internet in recent times, he said the increased use of technology has also led to a sharp rise in cyber frauds. Hence, he urged people to remain alert and stay away from any online allurement. If anyone gets cheated through cybercrime, immediately report to the cyber crime helpline 1930.

The Golden Hour is the time period after a crime is committed within which the police can hope to undo the damage. Once a cyber crime is reported by the victim to the police, the police act swiftly and freeze the transaction or the fraudster’s account with the help of the concerned bank.