Punjab Police Cyber Fraud Crackdown

The Punjab, India — Punjab Police's State Cyber Crime Division has launched a major crackdown on cyber fraud, freezing 63,749 bank accounts linked to fraudulent transactions totaling approximately Rs 540.34 crore over the past year. Since 2024, around Rs 64 crore has been recovered and refunded to victims, with a notable increase in the percentage of fraud proceeds successfully frozen. Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav highlighted the exposure of organized cybercrime networks and breakthroughs in identifying their methods. Special DGP V. Neeraja emphasized the dual strategy of enforcement and public awareness campaigns to protect citizens, especially youngsters, from various online scams. District-wise, India — Jalandhar Commissionerate, India — Kapurthala, India — Hoshiarpur, India — Firozpur, India — Tarn Taran district, India — Jalandhar, India — Sangrur, and India — Fatehgarh Sahib district have all contributed to the freezing of accounts and recovery of funds. A recent success included cracking a cyber extortion case involving a Punjabi resident in Canada, leading to three arrests and the recovery of both India — Indian rupee and Canada — Canadian dollar.