Internet crooks dupe Delhiites of Rs 700 crore last year. Here’s how Delhi Police’s 700-odd cyber cops chase them across country

Every month, he says, he visits at least 8-10 locations across India to investigate or arrest individuals involved in cyber-related fraud, especially financial cheating.

The room is part of the district’s cyber police station, which shares the space with the Dwarka North Police Station. Its staff includes two inspector-rank officers, one of whom is the Station House Officer (SHO).

Soon, complainants start lining up outside. One of them is a woman in her 30s who arrives with her husband. She says she has been cheated of Rs 95,000 and wants to lodge a complaint. Next to her is an elderly man with a similar issue — he has been cheated out of about Rs 12 lakh on the pretext of an investment in the share market.

Both complainants are taken into a counseling room, accompanied by a woman police officer, and offered a glass of water. They are asked to register their complaint on 1930, the national cybercrime helpline number. Officers tell them they would try to freeze the bank accounts where the money was transferred so it could be returned as soon as possible.

The sub-inspector says, “The network of financial fraud is not just limited to India; it has spread across the globe. Considering the volume of cyber-related cases we’re receiving, we will need dedicated cyber police stations in every area of Delhi, just like regular law and order police stations — around 200 — in the coming years.”

Last year, Dwarka’s Cyber Police Station recorded around 19,000 complaints related to online cheating, investment fraud, and phishing — the highest number of such cases among the 15 cyber police stations. As of April this year, the number has already reached 6,000; officers at the station believe it may surpass last year’s figure by the end of the year.

Across Delhi, this year, citizens have lost around Rs 450 crore to cyber cheats till May 21. In 2024, it was over Rs 700 crore, while 1.4 lakh complaints were filed.

To solve them all, there are just around 700 personnel across the cyber police stations — well below the sanctioned strength of roughly 1,740 personnel. “We receive around 25-50 complaints every day at each cyber station,” says a senior police officer who wishes to remain anonymous. “The situation is alarming; this number will definitely increase in the coming years.”

How do officers tackle the sheer volume of cases, with a majority of them being reported from other states? The Indian Express visits each cyber police station to find out.

‘We travel everywhere’

It was in 2022 that Delhi established 15 cyber police stations, one in each of its police districts, to address the growing concern of cybercrimes. These stations operate under the supervision of the respective District Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs). Station House Officers (SHOs) at these stations report to the Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACPs) of their district’s operational units.

They investigate financial fraud cases where the cheated amount is below Rs 50 lakh, social media crime, or harassment.

Highly sensitive cases or financial fraud above Rs 50 lakh are investigated by IFSO (Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations).

The cyber police stations are equipped with the latest gadgets: forensic servers, portable forensic tools for on-site examinations, and facilities to extract data from the latest Android, iOS, and even Chinese phones. The police stations also utilise mobile applications such as the OSTIN and Sahayak for investigative purposes.

And they have a sanctioned strength of 116 personnel each. On the ground, however, each station operates at half or less than half of its sanctioned strength.

According to a senior officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, the staff at each cyber police station have been drawn from the existing police force — only candidates who are graduates with strong technical skills are brought in, after they undergo several weeks of intensive training.

Outside the Dwarka cyber police station

As a result, the stations began with only a portion of the sanctioned personnel. In fact, at some police stations, the number of personnel has dipped over time.

As per the standing order issued by the Police Headquarters, each cyber police station is to have a dedicated investigation team comprising 45 personnel — this includes three inspectors, seven sub-inspectors, 14 ASIs or head constables and 21 constables.

But when someone is transferred, there is often a significant delay before a person is assigned to fill the vacancy, an officer says.

To top it all, the workload is immense. A single investigating officer (IO) is often handling 25-35 complaints at a time. “Besides, they have to travel to other cities almost every other day for investigations or raids because 99% of cases reported in Delhi are committed from outside the city and even abroad,” the officer adds.

At the South Cyber police station, the workload triggers a heated exchange.

A head constable requests permission to visit North Dinajpur in West Bengal. A constable is accompanying him.

His senior replies, “Arey tumhe poochna tha na reservation se phele… Malda bhi ho lete… pados mein jila hai. (You could have gone to Malda as well, it’s nearby and we have another case there).”

The head constable holds up two round-trip reservation tickets and says, “Sir, tickets do din ke hi hain. Agle din wapis aana tha… notice de kar. Do hafte se pehle teen states ghoom ke aa chuka hoon. Abhi kya karoon, reservation cancel karwa doon. Lekin, confirm milega ki nahi, yeh confirm nahi hai. (Sir, the ticket is only for two days; I have to return the next day after serving the notice… In the last two weeks, I have already visited three states — Jharkhand, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh — in connection with my other cases).”

To this, his senior responds, “Kahan se log leken aaye… Tumhe poochna the na. (Where can we find extra staff? You should have asked us before booking the tickets).”

An officer standing nearby says fraudsters mostly operate from states like West Bengal, Assam, Odisha, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Haryana.

And their modus operandi, too, has evolved, he adds. Now, scammers from Jamtara in Jharkhand and Mewat in Haryana and Rajasthan have moved from OTP scams to more sophisticated schemes like investment frauds and digital arrests. Often operating from remote or isolated areas, these fraudsters typically target people living in metropolitan cities or regions far from their own, he says.

To track them down, about a dozen staff members from each cyber police station are usually out of the city on raids or investigations. “We manage things here every day, somehow. Sometimes, the teams remain there for several days,” another inspector says.

A sub-inspector says that during the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, they faced significant difficulties as they were unable to get confirmed train tickets to other cities. “The situation will be the same again now; it will be difficult to get confirmed tickets during the summer vacation period,” the officer adds, noting that officers below the rank of inspector are not entitled to travel by flight.

Work constraints

Police receive cybercrime complaints through three main channels — the National Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP), the cyber fraud helpline number 1930, or from people visiting the police station in person.

“These days, a majority of people file complaints online because they are hesitant to admit they’ve been cheated,” says an officer at another police station.

In cases of investment fraud, as soon as a complainant informs them through any of these channels, the portal automatically notifies the nodal officer of the bank concerned to place a lien on the disputed amount in that account. “If the police suspect it’s a mule account, we immediately tell the bank to seize it,” an officer says.

A mule account is a bank account used by fraudsters to facilitate the transfer of stolen money; the account holders are often victims of the scam. They are often lured into participating in schemes with promises of a commission or a share from each transaction.

The herculean task of busting the racket then begins. After writing to the bank, the investigation team initiates technical inquiries by tracking bank accounts, mobile numbers, and IP addresses. Most times, the officer says, these accounts are not in one city or related to one person. The transaction happens in layers to bypass the law.

Police officers underline that cyber-related investigations are far different from other crimes. “It needs patience and a lot of technical knowledge and paperwork,” an officer says.

A legal section also complicates matters.

Every case of cyber fraud, phishing, hacking — any illegal activity conducted via the internet — falls under the purview of the Information Technology (IT) Act. But as per the law, such cases cannot be investigated by officers below the rank of an inspector.

So, the police force has deployed at least four inspectors at each cyber police station — on paper. None of the stations currently has the required number of inspectors.

Recently, the Delhi Police held tests to recruit SHOs for cyber police stations. An exam was held in March at the Delhi Police Academy in Wazirabad, with at least 122 inspectors appearing for positions across 15 police stations. Following the results, 14 SHOs of cyber police stations were transferred last month. However, the number of inspectors at each station has remained unchanged.

“We need to include the IT section in every case. Sometimes, during the initial stages of our cyber-related cheating investigations, we do not add the IT section so lower-ranking officers can probe the cases. Later, the IT section is added to prevent a single inspector from being overwhelmed with a huge number of cases,” an officer explains.

“Lower-ranking officers, especially those promoted to head constables from constables and sub-inspectors — despite being tech-savvy — cannot be given the authority to investigate these cases either,” he adds.

“There are only one or two inspectors authorised to investigate cases under the IT Act in each police station. How will they be able to pursue every single case, carry out investigations, and manage court proceedings?” an officer asks.

Officers also say the introduction of e-zero FIRs, while beneficial for people in distress or victims of cyber fraud, will definitely increase the workload on the IOs.

Last week, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) introduced the e-Zero FIR, which automatically converts cyber financial crime complaints with a cheated value above Rs 10 lakh, registered on the 1930 helpline or the NCRP, into FIRs. Home Minister Amit Shah had said the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), which comes under the MHA, has introduced the initiative to arrest any criminal with unprecedented speed.

Senior police officers have set a target for cyber police stations to trace and return 30% of the looted money to victims. So far, it is at 20%

An inspector at a police station says, “Every victim of financial fraud wants their money back as soon as possible. We want the same. But the investigation is not as simple as the distressed person thinks. From writing to banks, collecting details of suspects, and conducting raids or serving notices at their homes — we do all of this. We also ensure the recovered money is held and returned to the victim. Once the case is cracked, filing the chargesheet and securing justice are also priorities. However, staff shortage often delays investigations.”

Expert speak

According to a Joint Commissioner-level officer, the issue of staff shortage is a perennial problem in any force. “We definitely need to increase numbers as cases rise every month. But I believe the need of the hour is not just increasing staff — awareness is a fundamental tool,” he says.

People often fall victim to scams despite knowing the risks. Three words are common in every cyber fraud — greed, threat, and lack of awareness. The cheaters exploit these very factors, adds the officer. To raise awareness, staff from the IFSO and cyber police stations engage in daily briefings with Residents’ Welfare Associations, senior citizen groups in parks, schools, colleges, and offices.

Another officer says that a proposal has been sent by the Delhi Police to the government on allowing sub-inspector-level officers to probe IT Act cases. “I4C is deliberating on the proposal,” the officer says.

DCP (Shahdara) Prashant Gautam, also the former DCP of the IFSO, says the issue of staff shortage in police stations is not new. “In such situations, we make the best use of the resources available to us.”

Asked how Shahdara Cyber Police Station has a better staff strength — 72— as compared to other police stations, he says, “It’s the prerogative of the

DCP to increase or decrease staff as per requirement. Transfers and postings are carried out with the approval of all three district-level DCPs.”

On the Dwarka Cyber Police Station receiving the highest number of complaints, DCP (Dwarka) Ankit Singh says it is due to several factors within the district. “Some localities, like Dabri and Uttam Nagar, are densely populated, while areas such as Najafgarh are geographically vast. This district is also one of the largest in terms of area,” the officer adds.

Another senior police officer from the Outer District says there are certain ways to handle such situations. “Investigations into investment frauds are very lengthy, as there are multiple layers of accounts through which the money is transferred. When an individual begins probing, they often uncover several chains. So, we limit our investigation to the layers where we can at least ensure the recovery of money for the victim.”

DCP (Outer) Sachin Sharma says they are well aware of the importance and evolving challenges in cyberspace. “It changes every day. We continuously train our staff on new trends and modus operandi so that they can stay updated.”

“Recently, I conducted a four-day training session for personnel not only from the cyber police station but also from all law and order police stations,” he adds. “In fact, you’ll find that cyber investigations play a role in the majority of other crimes as well.”

According to Professor Triveni Singh, a former IPS officer, Uttar Pradesh Police, India is grappling with a severe shortage of trained officers to investigate cybercrime.

“Going by current regulations, only inspector-rank officers and above are authorised to investigate cyber offences. However, in most states, these officers are deployed in routine policing work, leaving cyber crime cells understaffed and under-resourced. Those who are assigned to cyber investigations often lack specialised training and the tools needed to deal with sophisticated digital threats. This systemic gap reflects in ground reality — only 3-5% of reported cyber crime complaints are registered as FIRs, allowing a vast majority of digital crimes to go unchecked,” says Singh, who is currently Chief Mentor at Future Crime Research Foundation (FCRF).

He adds that the challenges are further compounded by outdated infrastructure and a lack of forensic capability at the grassroots level: “… To tackle this crisis, India urgently needs to recruit and train more officers in cybercrime investigation, establish well-equipped cyber labs at the district level, and put in place a framework for real-time coordination and data exchange among all stakeholders.”

An officer at the Shahdara Cyber Police Station sums up their situation. “We want to solve every case,” he says. “When we look at people who’ve lost their money, we can’t help but feel the urge to bring them happiness. But we have to work with limited staff and technology…”\