Hyderabad: Hyderabad city police arrested 117 suspects from 16 states and registered 78 FIRs in connection with 74 cybercrime cases reported in the city during Feb. The arrests were made as part of a special enforcement drive titled ‘Operation Octopus’, aimed at dismantling organised cybercrime networks targeting residents of Hyderabad.Investigations revealed that the accused were linked to 1,081 cybercrime cases across India, with suspicious bank accounts associated with them showing transactions worth nearly ₹139 crore. During the financial probe, police were also able to refund ₹34.76 lakh to victims who had lost money in various online frauds. Officials said trading and investment scams accounted for the bulk of the detected cases, with 63 incidents reported. This was followed by six cases of ‘digital arrest’ frauds, four OTP-related scams and one case involving social media fraud. During the operations, cybercrime teams seized ₹36 lakh in cash and a large number of digital and financial instruments used in the frauds. These included 221 mobile phones, 26 laptops, 141 SIM cards, 54 debit cards, 115 cheque books, 152 bank passbooks, 56 shell stamps, a cash counting machine, five trade licences, six audit reports and three ledgers. Alongside the central cybercrime unit’s operations, the city’s zonal cyber cells received 2,963 complaints through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal during the month. Based on these petitions, 461 FIRs were registered. Zonal teams also arrested 11 individuals linked to nine cybercrime cases across the country and facilitated the refund of more than ₹24.10 lakh to victims. Cybercrime teams also stepped up preventive monitoring and digital surveillance. During cyber patrol, police identified 124 social media profiles on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram that were running 539 paid advertisements promoting online gaming and betting applications targeting Indian users. The advertisements lured users, particularly youth, with promises of easy money, bonuses and referral commissions. All the profiles were reported and subsequently taken down by the platforms, while efforts are underway to trace those behind them. Police also issued a public advisory urging citizens to stay alert against online frauds, including fake social media and matrimonial profiles used for honey trap scams, fraudulent investment groups operating on messaging platforms, and malicious links or APK files circulated through SMS and WhatsApp.
