‘Cyber Tau’ remained committed to its mission, urging people to stay cautious and informed to avoid falling victim to online scams.
Haryana Police’s ‘Cyber Tau’ pavilion by Haryana police was able to steal the show at ‘Surajkund Mela’ has closed down, warning visitors about digital scams. ‘Cyber Tau’ was grabbing public attention with its traditional look while educating visitors on cyber safety. Having crowds at the Surajkund International Crafts Mela, ‘Cyber Tau’—a man with a thick moustache, oversized glasses, traditional white dhoti, and red turban has been attracting significant attention from visitors. ‘Cyber Tau’ was on a mission—to educate people about the growing menace of cyber crimes fast increasing since past some time. The man behind this persona is Sub-Inspector Virender Singh Balhara, who is dedicated to spreading awareness regarding digital scams in the state.
Balhara was interacting with tourists, holding a poster that reads ‘Cyber Tau’ and ‘Dial 1930,’ and answering questions about how to stay vigilant, report online fraud and recover lost money. “Cybercriminals lure people mostly with greed or fear, tricking them into financial scams resulting many victims lose their hard-earned money simply because of lacking awareness,” he advised to the visitors, explaining that if someone falls victim to cyber fraud, they should immediately call 1930 to register a complaint, ensuring their bank account is frozen to prevent further losses. According to ‘Cyber Tau,’ scammers usually operate in two ways, either by instilling fear or by exploiting greed, besides the latest scams involving fake digital arrests. Victims receive a call claiming that illegal items were found in their courier package or another threatens that they are placed under ‘home arrest.’ Fraudsters even impersonate police officers, ED or a CBI officer over video calls to make threats for the arrest or face dire consequences. ‘Cyber Tau’ urged people to stay vigilant and report such incidents immediately to cyber crime cells operating in almost every district across the state.
According to ‘Cyber Tau’, another common fraud method preys on financial greed. ‘Scammers usually promise high returns through fake share market schemes or task-based earnings and offering part time jobs and attraction of gifts. in which many people lose their hard-earned money by falling for these traps,’ stressing that awareness is the only way to combat such fraud. ‘Cyber Tau’ also advised the public to check how many mobile SIM cards are registered in their name using the Sanchar Saathi app or website, telling that fraudsters often misuse SIM cards issued under someone else’s identity and in case you find extra numbers linked to your ‘Aadhaar’, and warned immediately deactivate them advising to buy SIM cards only from authorised stores, since local vendors sometimes use customers’ biometric data to issue multiple SIMs under the same identity, selling them at high prices to the fraudsters. The visitors at the fair appreciated the initiative by Haryana Police to educate people, making them vulnerable to fraud.
Meanwhile, government data highlights the growing threat of cyber fraud. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs’ 2023-24 report, citizens lost Rs 14,570 crore in cyber fraud incidents between March 2021 and March 2024, with 2.16 lakh cyber crime reports filed. According to available data, in Haryana, cyber fraud cases led to losses of Rs 602 crore in 2023, Rs 980 crore in 2024. However, the police managed to recover Rs 268 crore this year, compared to Rs 76 crore the previous year. Information reveals that people in Haryana have lost nearly Rs 72.84 crore to cyber frauds in January this year. According to information, the Haryana Police attributed the success to their awareness campaigns and said they had put 433 more cybercriminals behind bars in January this year, compared to January 2024.
An official from the Police Department revealed that the police also seized Rs 1,55,461 from various bank accounts during the investigation and facilitated a refund of Rs 7.5 lakh to victims. According to the police, the criminals used a variety of tactics to defraud victims which included making false promises of high returns on investments in the stock market, FaceBook friendship with females, blackmailing victims with obscene videos, luring people with fake lottery or lucky draw schemes and sending unverified links claiming money had been deposited into victims’ bank accounts, using fake QR codes and UPI details and tricking people into sharing their One-Time Passwords OTPs.
