Dodgy investment sites: ‘Cybercrime victim risks becoming accused’

Panaji: Investing through unverified trading platforms will result not only in losing money but also becoming accused in cases involving cyber fraudsters.

When a person invests through unverified trading platforms, they may receive some profit in their bank account during the initial stage before they are cheated. However, the amount they receive may have come from the account of a person whom the cyber fraudsters have cheated. Thus, a victim of one case becomes the accused in another.

If the victim of a cybercrime files a police complaint and the investigation leads to the bank account of any innocent person who received the amount, then they would be the accused in the case and their bank account would be frozen by the respective police of other states.

Often, it is seen that victims who report cyber frauds also get their accounts frozen. The reason is that they benefit from fraudsters giving them returns on the initial investments. Hence, there is a direct financial connection between the victim and fraudsters, police said.

“We advise the public to never invest in unverified trading platforms. Once your account becomes part of the financial trail, you may be seen as accused by law enforcement agencies,” cybercrime SP Rahul Gupta told TOI.

Cybercrimes should be reported in the golden period — six to seven hours — after their occurrence to greatly improve the chances of recovery of the stolen money, state cybercrime cell PI Deepak Pednekar has said. He said that so far, the cell has been able to recover Rs 9.2 crore in such cases.

Police said that after an awareness campaign on different types of cybercrimes — like digital arrest and investment fraud among others — was launched, there has been a drop in cases, but people have to be cautious while investing through unverified trading platforms.

Around 40,000 students across the state were trained by Goa police in handling cyber threats, making online practices safe, and using preventive measures to avoid falling victim to cybercrimes.

The training programme is aimed at empowering educators with up-to-date knowledge of cybercrime trends and equipping them to act as key facilitators of cyber awareness. The programme underscores our commitment to fostering a cyber-resilient society, police said.