Nagpur: Call it a “blessing in disguise,” the easing of Covid-19 restrictions led to less number of cyber crimes in Nagpur in 2021. Cyber crooks who had a field day during the lockdown in 2020 did not taste similar success in 2021 when citizens were not dependent solely on online mediums and could access establishments and facilities as the restrictions eased.
The painstaking efforts by Nagpur’s Cyber Cell which mounted its public awareness programmes and campaigns, the complaints related to cyber crimes came down by 23% in 2021 as compared to 2020 when citizens were compelled to stay at home due to strict lockdown.
Wenesday Rate
Wednesday01 Jan. 2025
The lockdown compelled people to spend far more time on the internet and use online transactions frequently, which also led to a rise in cyber crime offences. As per statistics available from the Cyber Cell, there were 3,365 complaints in 2021 as compared to 4,234 in 2020. In 2018, there were 1,824 complaints which increased to 3,023 in 2019.
According to Cyber Cell, Nagpur City Police, awareness camps were organized at 40 educational institutions, 19 offices of NGOs and others. There were 17 interactive sessions and two through broadcast mediums. Many webinars and seminars were held to create awareness regarding the latest modus operandi of cyber crooks, ways to remain safe and other social media behaviour and ethics. The citizens were returned more than Rs1.72 crores lost by them.
The Cyber Cell had managed to dispose of as many as 1,431 complaints in 2021. In around 174 cases, complainants got their lost amounts retrieved and restored in the bank accounts, including two from abroad.
