Tripura reports decline in cyber fraud cases; 269 victims lost Rs 51.49 crore: DGP

Tripura Director General of Police Anurag on Saturday said that while cyber fraud remains a major challenge, the state has seen a gradual decline in such cases thanks to growing public awareness.

Addressing a press briefing at the Tripura Police Headquarters, the DGP revealed that 269 individuals in the state have fallen victim to cyber fraud so far, collectively losing Rs 51.49 crore. Of this, Rs 33.84 lakh has already been recovered, while nearly Rs 5.76 crore has been trapped in 20,387 seized bank accounts, which authorities hope to retrieve within three months.

He explained that cybercriminals continue to exploit citizens through fake electricity and gas bills, RTO challans, fraudulent investment schemes, impersonation of police or income tax officials, OTP theft, social media harassment, fake franchises, lottery scams, and frauds on OLX, courier, and hotel booking platforms.

Sharing year-wise statistics, the DGP noted that losses due to cyber fraud in Tripura were Rs 1.98 crore in 2021, Rs 4.62 crore in 2022, Rs 9 crore in 2023, Rs 25.54 crore in 2024, and Rs 9.77 crore till July 2025.

“Cyber fraud is a growing concern nationwide. It affects not only ordinary citizens but sometimes even cyber experts,” he said, pointing out that over 850 million Indians are now active internet users, making them vulnerable targets for online scams.

To counter these threats, the DGP urged citizens to adopt preventive measures such as limiting app installations to only essential ones, using strong and regularly updated passwords, ensuring calls and SMS are not secretly forwarded, and immediately reporting suspicious transactions by dialing 1930 or contacting the Agartala Cyber Crime Police Station.

He also cautioned against falling for fake social media ads, “work from home” scams, unauthorized online games, and mishandling of UPI transactions—especially for CSC operators—warning that such negligence could lead to financial losses or frozen accounts.