1,300 Delhi Police personnel trained to tackle cyber-crime amid COVID-19 lockdown

New Delhi [India], March 7 : In light of the upward trend in cybercrimes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, about 1,300 personnel of the Delhi Police have been trained through video-conferencing as part of the Police force' decisive measures against crime.
According to Anyesh Roy, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Cyber Cell, incidents increased two-fold during the peak of the lockdown - from April and July 2020. Out of all these, about two-thirds were driven by online frauds. Cases of extortion by morphing videos of people (especially related to sexual conduct) also increased last year.
"Harnessing the digital platforms, Delhi Police organised online training for police personnel posted in District Cyber Cells and Police Station Cyber Teams. Close to 1,300 personnel were trained through video-conferencing," Roy said.
Teams of the Delhi Police apprehended cyber-criminals from far-off states such as Telangana, Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, West Bengal, etc despite movement restrictions amid the pandemic.
"Multiple sessions were conducted for police personnel on Internet Protocol Detail Record (IPDR) analysis, crypto-currency fraud investigations, illegal call centre investigations and investigation of frauds using new financial instruments (UPI, QR Code)," Roy said.
The force took measures against cyber crimes at multiple levels through their three-tiered cyber investigation structure and handled common online frauds such as vishing, social media frauds.
The CyPAD Unit handled complex cases of online frauds and sensitive cases of online harassment. They also focused on dismantling organized cyber-crime syndicates and made sustained efforts resulting in successful detections of cybercriminals operating in the Mewat region who targeted users of resale mobile applications.
Action has also been taken against fraudsters peddling fake websites in the name of popular government schemes such as Ayushman Yojana, PM Cares, etc.