Cybercriminals Swiped Off ₹25 crore in 6 months in Chandigarh -

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“After receiving 3,927 cyberfraud complaints this year, only 70 FIRs have been filed and 69 fraudsters have been arrested.”

Cybercrime investigators revealed that, due to online fraud between January 1 and June 25, 2025, citizens lost around ₹25 crore. This is around 7 times more than the loss caused at the end of last year, which touched ₹3.39 crore.

As many as 3,927 cybercrime complaints have been received so far this year, but against this, only 70 FIRs have been registered, and 69 accused have been arrested.

Cyber Police Officials

Explaining the gap between complaints and FIRs, cyber police officials say that an FIR is not always necessary for the recovery of funds, and many complainants choose not to pursue formal registration once their money is successfully recovered.

Senior Officer

“Several victims withdraw their request for an FIR once their funds are traced or held by the cyber team. FIR is not mandatory for initiating the refund process.”

“Even if we freeze the amount, the refund process requires due legal verification and bank approvals, which can be slow. Also, once the money is routed through multiple accounts or crypto wallets, tracing becomes tougher.”

Recovery: A somber image

Only ₹17.14 lakh, or less than 1%, has been returned to victims thus far this year, despite ₹5.33 crore being kept or stopped in suspicious accounts. Just ₹2.06 lakh of the ₹4.64 crore that was kept in 2024, preserved before thieves were able to get it, was returned.

If targeted, report right away

According to cyber officials, victims of financial theft may dial the 1930 helpline, which is dedicated to reporting cyber financial fraud, to get urgent assistance.

Upon receiving a complaint, a group of skilled operators gathers and inputs important transaction information into the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS), including account numbers, transaction IDs, and amounts.

The file is then forwarded to nodal bank officers, who follow the supposed criminal proceeds. Authorities may put a hold on the transaction or, in certain situations, seize the full amount if it seems suspicious or has been reported repeatedly from various locations.

Officials warn that this system is time-sensitive, though. The initial one to two hours following the fraudulent transaction are when recovery possibilities are at their maximum.

Official

“Sometimes we’re lucky and able to act even after a day, but that’s rare.”

The complex operations of cybercriminals, who frequently use automated techniques to swiftly transfer funds across numerous accounts, are the problem, they continue. These proceeds are almost challenging to track down because they rapidly turn into cryptocurrency, especially USDT.

The recovery procedure is made much more difficult by the fact that many of these transactions are eventually traced to offshore destinations, such as Dubai, China, Hong Kong, and other nations.

Action & Arrests

So far in 2025, 69 suspects have been taken into custody. In 2024, however, only 44 people were arrested over the same time frame. Other states, particularly Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Rajasthan, which government agencies have identified as hotspots for cybercrime, saw a high number of arrests.

Police

Syndicates often operate through disposable devices and proxy accounts, making it difficult to trace the masterminds.

Officials in charge of cyber police admit that most of the time, the people who get arrested are not the fraudsters.

The people Chandigarh Police arrest are frequently bank account holders who voluntarily consent to the use of their accounts in return for a little commission, usually between 1% and 10% of the transaction value.

These people, who often come from less wealthy backgrounds, serve as puppets in larger cybercrime networks and have little idea how big the operation is. Nearly ₹3 crore was transferred through more than 150 bank accounts in a recent Chandigarh Police investigation into a ₹3.5 crore digital arrest fraud, resulting in a complicated and multi-layered money chain.

Such layering techniques are intentionally utilized to delay law enforcement responses and disrupt tracking efforts.

About The Author

Suraj Koli is a content specialist in technical writing about cybersecurity & information security. He has written many amazing articles related to cybersecurity concepts, with the latest trends in cyber awareness and ethical hacking. Find out more about “Him.”

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