Mumbai Police Launches ‘Cyber Safe Mumbai’ Campaign to Curb Rising Digital Frauds
With cybercrime cases touching alarming levels, the Mumbai Police on Thursday launched a large-scale awareness drive called
“Cyber Safe Mumbai” to protect citizens from digital frauds and online scams.
Under this campaign, the Cyber Cell will conduct awareness programs in schools, colleges, residential societies, Ganesh mandals, and corporate companies. The initiative will educate people on cybercrime prevention, different types of online frauds, and the importance of promptly reporting incidents to the police.
Shocking Cyber Fraud Statistics
According to official Cyber Cell data, in the past seven months alone, Mumbai has reported cyber frauds worth ₹650 crore. Alarmingly, 90% of the victims are senior citizens, and 5% are bank managers.
DCP Purushottam Karad said the campaign was launched under Police Commissioner Deven Bharti’s directives to make Mumbaikars more vigilant against cyber threats. Citizens will be shown videos and slide presentations explaining the latest fraud methods, including fake calls, phishing messages, malicious links, and digital payment scams, along with safety measures to secure personal and financial data.
Recently, a shocking case came to light in South Mumbai where an elderly woman was duped of Rs.26 crore. The fraudsters posed as CBI and police officials, threatening her with a ‘digital arrest’ and coercing her to transfer the funds. Investigations revealed that the scammers had contacted her via WhatsApp calls routed through a VPN in Cambodia.
When the police reached her home, the victim was so terrified that she refused to let them in. Cyber Cell officers revealed that 90% of recent cybercrimes in Mumbai have traced VPN locations to Cambodia.
Mumbai’s cyber helpline 1930 receives 2,000–2,200 calls daily, of which around 200 are confirmed cyber fraud cases.The city witnesses fraud losses between Rs.50 lakh to Rs.1 crore every day. Fraudsters now prefer WhatsApp calls over regular phone calls to conceal their location. Complaints of data theft and leaked bank details are rising rapidly.
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Officials stressed that no government agency or the CBI conducts “digital arrests”. Citizens are urged to ignore suspicious calls or messages from unknown numbers and report them immediately to the cyber helpline. They also warned against clicking on unfamiliar links or sharing personal/bank details.
