Chandigarh [India], June 26 (ANI): Reaffirming its commitment to making every penny accountable and protecting citizens from cyber fraud, the Punjab Police’s State Cyber Crime Division has intensified its crackdown on cybercriminals by freezing thousands of bank accounts linked to fraudulent transactions and facilitating the return of defrauded money to victims.
Through timely intervention, advanced technological capabilities and meticulous financial tracking, the division has significantly strengthened the state’s response against organised cybercrime while improving the recovery of stolen funds.
Timely freezing of suspect bank accounts has prevented cyber fraud gangs from siphoning off funds and substantially enhanced the likelihood of recovering money lost by victims.
Over the last year, the Punjab Police has frozen 63,749 bank accounts linked to cyber fraud involving transactions worth approximately Rs 540.34 crore. Since 2024, around Rs 64 crore has been recovered and refunded to victims, including approximately Rs 38.42 crore recovered since January 1, 2025. During the same period, 62,253 cybercrime cases have been registered across the state.
During the last financial year, the percentage of fraud proceeds successfully frozen increased from 16.13 per cent to 23.43 per cent, reflecting a significant improvement in financial recovery.
Sharing details, Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said, “The large-scale crackdown against cyber fraud gangs has not only enabled Punjab Police to freeze thousands of fraudulent bank accounts and recover defrauded money, but has also helped expose organised cybercrime networks operating across the country.”
“Our investigations have led to significant breakthroughs in identifying the methods, financial trails and inter-state linkages used by cybercriminals. Through timely intervention, advanced technological capabilities and meticulous financial tracking, the Cyber Crime Division has been able to disrupt fraud networks, protect citizens’ savings and ensure that offenders are brought to justice,” he added.
Among the districts, Jalandhar Commissionerate recorded the highest number of frozen accounts at 16,032, leading to the recovery of Rs 6,81,00,323. Kapurthala followed with 7,344 frozen accounts and recoveries amounting to Rs 2,56,00,037. In Hoshiarpur, 7,201 accounts were frozen, resulting in recoveries of Rs 3,96,29,152, while 6,930 accounts were frozen in Ferozepur, leading to recoveries of Rs 93,16,954.
Similarly, Tarn Taran froze 5,229 accounts, resulting in recoveries worth Rs 6,97,65,710. Jalandhar Rural recovered Rs 55,94,632 through the freezing of 4,475 accounts. Besides this, 1,760 bank accounts were frozen in Sangrur and 2,685 accounts were frozen in Fatehgarh Sahib.
Highlighting one of the recent successes, the DGP said that the State Cyber Crime Division successfully cracked a cyber extortion case involving a Punjabi resident based in Canada. The victim was contacted through social media on the pretext of resolving personal problems through online ardas (prayer), persuaded to share a video and subsequently blackmailed with threats of circulating it on social media.
Acting swiftly on the complaint, the Cyber Crime Division arrested three persons and recovered Rs 3,49,100 along with 500 USD. The police also seized 29 mobile phones, one laptop, one dongle, one tablet and 38 empty mobile phone boxes. The case is among several successful operations carried out by the division in recent months.
To strengthen public awareness and prevent cyber fraud, the Punjab Police has also undertaken an extensive outreach campaign across the state. During the period, the State Cyber Crime Division organised 129 awareness programmes, while 50 programmes were conducted in Mansa, 44 in Sri Muktsar Sahib, 31 in Ludhiana, 27 in Hoshiarpur, 25 in Jalandhar, 23 in Khanna and 19 in Bathinda.
Special Director General of Police (Cyber Crime) V Neeraja said, “Besides tackling cyber fraud gangs, the State Cyber Crime Division is also working towards making citizens aware of how to avoid scammers’ traps. The police are also focusing on sensitising youngsters regarding fake online grooming, cyber bullying, sextortion, fake friendships and gaming platforms, which may lead to the sharing of sensitive personal information.”
She said that the sustained enforcement drive, coupled with large-scale public awareness campaigns, reflects the Punjab Police’s multi-pronged strategy to combat cybercrime, safeguard citizens’ savings and strengthen confidence in digital transactions across the state. (ANI)
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