New Delhi, Dec 2: Union Home Ministry data released Tuesday revealed that 22.68 lakh cybercrime incidents were registered on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal in 2024, marking a 42.08 per cent increase from the previous year, with citizens losing over Rs 22,845 crore to such crimes.

During 2024, citizens lost Rs 22,845.73 crore to cyber criminals, said Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar in the Lok Sabha.

He said that the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS), launched in 2021, has helped save more than Rs 7,130 crore in over 23.02 lakh complaints.

The Minister said so far, more than 11.14 lakh SIM cards and 2.96 lakh IMEIs, as reported by the police authorities, have been blocked by the Government of India to mitigate cyber fraud.

The MoS said a Suspect Registry of identifiers of cyber criminals was launched by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) on September 10, 2024, in collaboration with Banks/Financial Institutions.

“So far, more than 18.43 lakh suspect identifier data received from banks and 24.67 lakh Layer 1 mule accounts have been shared with the participating entities of Suspect Registry and declined transactions worth Rs 8,031.56 crore,” he said.

The module, ‘Pratibimb’, which maps locations of criminals and crime infrastructure on a map, has assisted in the arrest of 16,840 accused, said the MoS.

He said that in 2023, as many as 15.96 lakh incidents of cybercrimes were registered on the NCRP, marking an increase of 55.15 per cent over the previous year. In 2023, citizens lost Rs 7,465.18 crore in cyber frauds.

Bandi Sanjay Kumar said that in 2022, as many as 10.29 lakh cyber crimes were registered on the NCRP, and citizens lost Rs 2,290.24 crore in cyber frauds during the year.

As many as 4.52 lakh incidents of such crimes were registered in 2021, he said.

Replying to a question raised by Ajay Kumar Mandal in Lok Sabha, the MoS said that the MHA has set up the ‘Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre’ (I4C) as an attached office to deal with all types of cyber crimes in the country, in a coordinated and comprehensive manner.

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He said cyber crime incidents reported on NCRP, their conversion into FIRs and subsequent action, including filing of charge sheets, arrest and resolution of complaints, are handled by the state/UT law enforcement agencies concerned as per the provisions of the law.

(IANS)