Cyber Crime Helpline: How Prompt Calls Can Save Victims from Financial Grief

A quick call to the national cyber crime helpline 1930 in the ‘Golden Hour’ can pay off for victims of online scams. Despite losing money to cybercrimes, many victims have found that their call to the helpline in the crucial one hour after transferring money eventually saved them a lot of financial grief.

Increased Awareness and Refunds

Increased awareness about 1930 has resulted in money withheld in bank accounts this year doubling from what it was in 2023 in Telangana. As a result, money refunded to the victims has also increased. "The bureau streamlined the process of refund by creating a procedure in collaboration with TG Legal Services Authority (TGLSA. This year Rs 176 crore was refunded to 17,411 victims compared to Rs 8.36 crore in 2023," said a TG Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) official.

Success Stories

Recently, a software professional from Gachibowli, who had lost Rs 80 lakh during ‘digital arrest’, got back a substantial amount thanks to her prompt call to 1930. "Since she could call within an hour (Golden Hour) after she transferred the amount, we could freeze the money parked in the bank accounts of the accused. It was recently that she got back about Rs 60 lakh. A victim’s reaction in immediately calling 1930 plays a crucial role in recovery," TGCSB DSP Biksham Reddy said.

In another case, an IT professional, who had lost nearly Rs 1 crore in an investment fraud, also got more than 50% of the amount as he reported the matter to 1930 in the ‘Golden Hour’.

Challenges in Recovering Stolen Money

However, cops pointed out that in most cases of financial frauds payments are made over several hours or days. Once the accused moves the victims’ money from first layer accounts to different accounts and then withdraws, it becomes difficult to recover the money. In many cases, the money is diverted abroad. "For instance, a victim realised that he was duped after his seventh payment. But the earlier six payments were made during the previous days. So, we could only freeze the seventh transaction, which was just Rs 4 lakh, as he called within one hour. But he totally lost Rs 50 lakh," a bureau official said, underlining the importance of the ‘Golden Hour’.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a prompt call to the cyber crime helpline 1930 in the ‘Golden Hour’ can save victims from financial grief. Increased awareness and refunds have also increased this year. However, cops pointed out that recovering stolen money can be challenging due to the accused’s tactics.