Online banking frauds top list of cybercrimes in Mizoram

Aizawl, April 7 (IANS) Online banking frauds top the list of cybercrimes in Mizoram. As many as 56.38 per cent of the total of 321 cybercrime cases registered between January 2020 and March 11 this year were of financial frauds, officials said on Monday.

An official of the state cybercrime police station said that of the total 321 cases, 181 cases i.e 56.38 per cent were of online financial cheating.

Apart from 181 cases of financial frauds, 70 cases of online sexual harassment, 32 cases of identity fraud, 16 cases of child pornography, nine cases relating to social media, seven cases of copyright infringement, five cases of rumour mongering and one case of hacking were registered.

The highest number of financial crimes at 107 was reported in 2022, the official said, adding that over Rs 1.42 crore was recovered in financial fraud cases between 2021 and March 11 this year.

At 185, Mizoram had the highest number of cybercrime cases registered in 2022, followed by 72 cases in 2023.

In 2024, the number of cybercrime cases decreased to 41 and out of these, 17 were related to financial frauds and 15 to sexual harassment.

In the current year till March 11, as many as 13 cybercrime cases were registered, of which six were related to sexual harassment and four to financial fraud.

The official said that 113 people, including eight under the age of 18, were arrested in various cybercrime cases and 40 of them were convicted, since 2021.

Mizoram Police officials said that most of the cybercriminals operate from different parts of the country including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chandigarh.

Mizoram Police launched a massive campaign against cybercrime and urged people to remain extra alert against online or digital fraud.

Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma recently said that his government has made a concerted effort to combat cybercrime and the misuse of social media and punish offenders.

He had said that concerted efforts have been made to combat cybercrime, curb the misuse of social media, address the spread of misleading statements, and penalise offenders according to the law.

"The Cyber Crime Police Station is actively promoting cyber safety awareness to educate social media users. These initiatives aim to serve as a strong deterrent against cybercrime and promote safe usage of the Internet and technology by the public," he said.

--IANS

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