T.N. Cyber Crime Wing rescues 1,212 potential victims of cyber crime

The Cyber Crime Wing of the Tamil Nadu Police said it had rescued 1,212 potential victims of cyber fraud over the year.

The Director-General of Police (DGP), Cyber Crime Wing, Sandeep Mittal, said a dedicated Cyber Patrolling and Intelligence Team was established at the Cyber Crime Wing headquarters to proactively monitor and counter illegal and fraudulent activities in cyberspace, including social media platforms and websites.

“This team has rescued 1,212 potential victims — 200 belonging to Tamil Nadu and 1,012 from other States — from being completely victimised. It has also blocked around 1,507 social media accounts and pages promoting fake investment apps,” he said.

As another proactive step, the Cyber Crime Wing has begun opening history sheets for repeat cyber offenders. A special operation — Operation ‘Thirai Neekku’ — was conducted between December 2024 and June 2025 across Tamil Nadu, to investigate cybercrime cases and nab the suspects.

The operation resulted in the arrest of 212 cyber offenders involved in 654 complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP), with a total loss amounting to ₹193.97 crore.

Under a pan-India operation titled Operation ‘Hydra’, seven cyber criminals were arrested from States such as Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Assam, and Delhi for their involvement in high-impact cybercrimes.

The Tamil Nadu Cyber Crime Wing also launched Operation ‘Blue Triangle’ to secure international human trafficking agents and mule agents involved in the ‘Cyber Slavery Scam’. So far, 10 cyber offenders have been secured, with four detained under the Goondas Act.

The Cyber Crime Wing arrested a total of 1,193 cyber offenders through various inter-State and intra-State operations in 2025.

Mr. Mittal further said that with the deployment of advanced algorithms at international telecom gateways, fraudulent calls were being effectively blocked at the source. Cyber criminals operating from abroad had been attempting to sabotage telecom networks by activating SIM boxes at various locations in India. Recognising this threat, the Cyber Crime Wing carried out intelligence-led operations, resulting in the dismantling of 44 SIM boxes and the arrest of nine accused across the country, three of whom were detained under the Goondas Act.

Stringent measures against hard-core cyber offenders were being implemented, with a total of 50 cyber offenders detained under the Goondas Act in 2025 alone, the DGP said.