Mumbai: The digital wall blocking cyber cops

Mumbai has witnessed cyber frauds exceeding Rs 1000 crore over the past 10 months despite having five specialised cyber police stations Detection and recovery rates remain low between 15 and 25 per cent with offenders often securing bail within 2535 days and subsequently committing similar crimes in other statesCybercrime presents a different challenge compared to regular crimes In traditional cases we often identify the suspect early in the investigation In cyber fraud cases the perpetrator operates behind a digital wall making it difficult to determine their identity or location By the time we trace their details the situation often changes as the money is routed through multiple accounts Despite these challenges we are doing our best and as you can see the detection rate has improved over the past few years We are committed to making further progressrdquo said DCP Datta Nalawade of the Cyber CellCybercriminals often secure bail within a month Representation piciStockSenior cyber lawyer Prashant Mali believes there are multiple reasons why detection and recovery rates remain low despite the extensive machinery in place in Mumbai He highlights a critical gap ldquoThe arrests focus on mule account holders rather than the masterminds and key players behind cybercrimes Unless we catch the real perpetrators we wonrsquot be able to stop them Mule account holders are merely beneficiaries receiving only a small sum They are arrested get bail and then resume their activities in other states and cities Simply arresting mule account holders and blocking available funds is not enough to deliver justice to victims For example the 1930 helpline shows the amount blocked but is there data showing that the money is actually returned to the victims That information is unavailablerdquo he addedldquoOur efforts aim to put every individual involved in cybercrime behind bars even those who merely provide their bank account numbers The fact is these individuals are aware of the fraud and participate to gain some benefit In most cases the primary culprits are operating from abroad and we have completed the necessary formalities through official channels to bring them to India to face the lawrdquo an officer of the Cyber Cell saidHighlighting the challenges Mali added ldquoIn my practice as a cyberlawyer I see that if an amount is blocked by the police via helpline 1930 for one account there are often four to five other police stations from different states claiming the same funds Effectively banks are not releasing money to the victim despite court orders Bank officials come to the court stating that there are multiple court orders and police requests for the same money This happens because the same criminal has committed crimes under various jurisdictions In the end the victim goes through further pain trying to recover their money Until we start charging these offenders under organised crime statutes they will continue because they donrsquot fear the lawrdquoMali emphasised the need for a centralised database of habitual cyber offenders suggesting that each time an individual is arrested the police should present their criminal record to the court to prevent easy bail ldquoDetails of repeat offenders should be shared with mobile operators and banks to deny them access to loans and credit cards Police should also track immediate family members of cybercriminals to deter them from continuing their crimes Such measures are essential as cybercrime is now seen as a lucrative career for criminalsrdquoChallenges faced by cyber copsAccording to a cyber cop investigating extortion scams linked to Mewat now Nuh in Haryana certain regions in India like Mewat have become hubs for cyber fraud with multiple gangs operating ldquoI went undercover as a villagerrdquo the officer shared ldquoThe locals know these young criminals are at work and the economy relies heavily on cybercrime much like Jamtara Villagers resist arrests by blocking roads and throwing stones The district spans three statesmdashRajasthan Uttar Pradesh and Haryanamdashso the suspects get tipped off and shift locations quickly I stayed for two weeks and returned emptyhanded spending over R2 lakh on logisticsrdquoAnother officer noted that many cybercrime masterminds remain at large due to their operations abroad ldquoIn a recent stock market fraud suspects were based in Dubai Hong Kong Mauritius and Chinardquo he said ldquoWhile wersquove arrested some handlers in India key players in scams like lsquoLike and Earnrsquo or lsquoTaskrsquo frauds remain outside our reachrdquo A third officer explained the challenge of tracking cybercriminals who operate ldquobehind a digital wallrdquo ldquoWe send letters to banks to trace accounts used in fraud only to find they were opened with forged documents or unaware individualsrsquo KYC data This makes tracking perpetrators difficult as even the SIM cards often belong to othersrdquo In many cases he added it takes months to gather details to actMumbai police data show that over the past four years more than 30000 numbers involved in cyber fraud have been blocked with the help of the Department of TelecommunicationsLack of motivation for cybercopsMali highlights a lack of motivation among the cybercops ldquoCyber officers need incentives similar to those in the AntiCorruption Bureaurdquo he said ldquoThey face constant travel challenges when pursuing cybercriminals across states yet funding for travel and daily allowances isnrsquot provided promptly States should ensure tickets are available enabling officers to focus on apprehending suspects without financial stressrdquoInvoke Section 111 of BNSLegal experts are urging Mumbai police to use Section 111 of the BNS Act which treats cybercrime as organised crime making it tougher for offenders to get bail ldquoItrsquos time to instil a stronger fear of the law in cybercriminals much like the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act MCOCA did for gangsters Section 111 needs to be appliedrdquo said senior cyber lawyer Prashant MaliIn July former Maharashtra DGP Rashmi Shukla told midday that without strict provisions cybercriminals often secure bail within a month She noted that the BNS Actrsquos severe penalties such as life imprisonment or a Rs 10 lakh fine could deter repeat offences Although the BNS Act came into effect in July Section 111 has rarely been invoked in Mumbai ldquoWersquore reviewing cases to invoke Section 111 during charge filingrdquo said a senior officer Mumbai police data shows an increase in cybercrime detection rates rising from 85 per cent in 2020 to 235 per cent in 2024 with annual cases fluctuating but showing gradual improvement in detection rates