Bhubaneswar: Odisha witnessed over 142 per cent jump in complaints regarding financial frauds in 2024, the state Assembly was informed on Monday.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi shared this information in a written answer to a question by BJD MLA Ranendra Pratap Swain.
As per data presented by the CM in the House, a total of 43,740 incidents of financial fraud were reported during 2024 compared to 18,081 cases in 2023. “The number of Financial Fraud Complaints received in the year 2024 increased 142% in comparison to the year 2023,” he said.
Statistics showed that the monetary value of these frauds was more than Rs 415.90 crore in 2024, a sharp rise of over 400 per cent from Rs 79.66 crore recorded in 2023.
Of the Rs 415 crore fraud complaints received in the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), including the helpline number 1930, police managed to return Rs 39.42 lakh to the complainants.
Around Rs 3.5 crore was put on hold by the financial institutions, restricting access to the amount following the complaints, the CM told the assembly. This Jan, 4,314 complaints reporting a total amount of Rs 41.86 crore being stolen were recorded, indicating an alarming trend in cybercrimes across the state.
Police registered 1,553 cybercrime cases relating to financial fraud in 2024 and arrested 191 persons, including two women. Police registered 1,362 cases and arrested 163 individuals, including eight women, in 2023.
Stating that the government has taken a series of initiatives to prevent and resolve cybercrimes and digital financial fraud, the Chief Minister said that seven personnel from the cybercrime unit in Odisha were selected for national level I4C (Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre) training last month.
The government purchased several cyber forensics and cyber security tools such as Cyber X Ray, mobile forensics, email analyser, DVR examiner, Crime OS and IQT (cybercrime intelligence) last year, while there is a proposal to buy more cyber forensic equipment, Majhi said.
