Pune cybercrime cell records 19,358 complaints this year

The city cybercrime cell has received a staggering 19,358 complaints this year, making it the highest so far, with a total 19,023 complaints recorded in 2021; 14,950 in 2020; and 7,794 in 2019. Among the complaints filed this year, crimes related to loan applications and money, sextortion and cryptocurrency take the lead.

A sizeable chunk of the cases namely 3,469 involves applications that provide meagre loans to citizens upon access to their PAN card numbers, contacts and personal details. A processing fee is deducted from the loan amount and the remaining amount is deposited into the customer’s bank account. However, within just a few days, these borrowers start receiving calls and messages threatening them with dire consequences in the event the loan is not repaid. The senior police inspector of the cybercrime cell said that the accused in these crimes are mostly from areas outside Pune.