76k cyber fraud victims duped of Rs 712 crore in 18 months: CM | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: Cyber fraudsters siphoned off a staggering Rs 712 crore from 76,794 victims in Odisha in the past 18 months, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi revealed in the assembly on Monday. The disclosure came amid a 12% rise in cybercrime cases in 2025. Responding to a question from BJD MLA Pratap Keshari Deb, Majhi outlined two complaint mechanisms available to citizens — reporting at police stations and through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP), which also operates the 1930 toll-free helpline.“Between June and December 2024, the NCRP received 27,368 complaints from Odisha involving fraud worth Rs 279.71 crore. In 2025, the number rose to 49,426 complaints with losses totaling Rs 432.28 crore. Authorities refunded about Rs 8 crore to victims and blocked another Rs 92 crore during this 18-month period,” the CM’s written reply said.The state police separately recorded 2,482 cases of financial fraud amounting to Rs 259 crore, 1,689 cases of social media fraud worth Rs 1.28 crore, 14 hacking-related cases involving Rs 8.5 lakh and 53 other fraud cases totaling Rs 23 lakh between June 2024 and December 2025. Police refunded Rs 61.36 lakh and froze Rs 8.9 crore in these cases. Police officials clarified that most NCRP complaints were also reflected in police station records.Replying to BJD MLA Ranendra Pratap Swain’s question, Majhi further informed the house that Odisha registered 2,348 cybercrime cases in 2023, 2,501 in 2024, and 2,803 in 2025—showing a steady upward trend.Highlighting govt efforts to combat the menace, the CM said, “As many as 34 cyber police stations are now operational across the state. Six cyber commandos have completed six months of national-level training, with 20 more to follow. A month-long awareness drive was launched on October 18, 2025, and 3,063 police personnel have received specialized training in cybercrime investigation.”Recently, Majhi proposed the creation of a centre of excellence for cyber security with an allocation of Rs 89 crore in state budget 2026-27. “It will strengthen cyber monitoring, digital forensics, capacity building and advanced response capabilities and significantly enhance the state’s preparedness for technology-driven crime and secure digital governance,” Majhi had said in his budget speech.
