Use 'Golden Hour' to report scams, say B'luru cyber cops

Hameed Ashraf

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: While prompt medical treatment helps prevent death following an accident during the 'golden hour' immeidately after the accident, the same 'golden hour' plays a crucial role in recovering money lost in cyber frauds.

Recently, a 52-year-old woman entrepreneur from Bengaluru managed to recover Rs 1.7 crore, a part of the funds which she had lost in a cyber scam, by immediately reporting the fraud to the cybercrime police.

The police assured her that they will recover the remaining funds from the miscreants in a few days. In cybercrime cases, the term 'golden hour' refers to the crucial period immediately following a cybersecurity incident, particularly a fraud, data breach or cyberattack.

This time frame is critical because the actions taken by law enforcement agencies during this period can significantly impact the effectiveness of the response, containment and recovery efforts.

In 2022, the Cyber Economics and Narcotics (CEN) police station in Bengaluru recovered the life-savings of a former Lokayukta official which the online fraudster had siphoned off in a KYCrelated scam.

Ashraf Sab Pinjar, a police constable, who took up the complaint, acted in the golden hour and called the nodal officer of a private bank with a request to block the victim's account and stop the latest transaction.

The nodal officer, after taking down the details of the account, froze it and reverted the fraudulent transaction, thus recovering the lost money Kuldeep Kumar Jain, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Bengaluru East, said that if the victim of a cybercrime has lost money, then he must immediately call 1930, the toll-free number of the national cybercrime reporting portal (NCRP) or visit the NCR portal, https:// cybercrime.gov.in/, to report the incident.

"It must be done within four hours of the incident to help the police effectively trace and block the proceeds of the crime," he further said.

"Once the victim registers the complaint with NCRP (via 1930 or the website), an SMS regarding the complaint is also sent to the nodal officer of the concerned financial institution. The nodal office then checks the details on the dashboard which is available on the reporting portal," Jain said.

He further said that if the proceeds of the crime are still available, then the FI or bank puts a hold on it, thus preventing the fraudster from withdrawing the money.

"Cybercriminals adopt various tactics to exploit individuals and often prey on people's vulnerabilities or ignorance. Staying vigilant and cautious is the best defence against becoming a victim of financial fraud," the DCP added.