Like other states, Tripura has also been facing cybercrime attacks, especially financial frauds, with cases rising sharply last year. However, the trend appears to be declining this year due to a series of countermeasures, Tripura Director General of Police (DGP) Anurag said here on Saturday.

The DGP said that digital use is now a part of daily life and facilitates much vital work, but it also opened the door to a plethora of cyber-crimes – all of which are borderless, faceless and constantly evolving.

The police chief said that, as per reports of the National Cyber Crime Portal, which has been active since 2021, India sustained financial losses of Rs 22,845 crores last year (2024), which was 206 per cent higher than the Rs 7,465 crores financial losses in 2023.

Anurag said that almost all sorts of crimes, including murders, have cyber-crimes associated with them these days, since most criminals use mobile phones or computers at some phase of their crimes, which involves cybercrime sections of the law.

Tripura Police in June this year set up a state-level Cyber Crime Police Station at Arundhutinagar Nagar on the outskirts of Agartala.

The DGP said that Tripura Police had identified online money fraud worth Rs 46.96 crores since 2021 in Tripura, out of which the authorities were able to hold Rs 5.2 crores and had already returned Rs 34 lakh to the victims.

About the remaining amount, the police are arranging a special drive to return the rest of the money after a few verifications and checks in the next three months. The senior IPS officer said that the police have also recovered details of 20,387 bank accounts involved in these cybercrime attacks in Tripura.

Stating that cyber-crime is on the rise nationally, the DGP, who had earlier served with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and specialized in tackling different cyber-crime including banking frauds, said, India sustained total money fraud of Rs 1.98 crores in 2021; the figures rose to Rs. 4.62 crores in 2022, Rs 9 crores in 2023 and registered a massive spike in Rs 25.52 crores in 2024.

He said that the Tripura Police has taken a series of steps, including launching the first dedicated cybercrime police station recently, to investigate complex cybercrime. Police personnel in the cyber-crime cell and other police personnel serving in different parts of Tripura are being trained in the state and also outside the state.

Facilities available at the State Forensic Science Laboratory and forensic science labs outside Tripura are being used to deal with cyber-crimes and holding a series of awareness campaigns through ‘Prayas’ – Tripura Police’s own public outreach campaign, adapting to assert itself on social media platforms.

Meanwhile, Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha, while addressing a function earlier this week, said that security forces and law enforcement agencies are now fighting terrorism and cybercrime, as both pose serious threats to the people.

“Mobile network systems are more dangerous than the AK series rifle as electronic networks can do maximum harm if the people are not alert when using the digital or electronic networks,” said Saha, who also holds the home portfolio.

The Chief Minister said that the police and the law enforcement agencies have to fight against the invisible elements who are closely involved in digital crime to rob money and valuables from innocent people.

“We are now talking about the benefits of Artificial Intelligence (AI), but it has disadvantages too. The AI can be used against innocent people by fraudsters and cheaters. People have to be always careful to protect themselves from fraudulent activities,” he stated.