Data trail aids Cy-Hunt make headway

The officers who were part of the Cy-Hunt under Additional Director General of Police S. Sreejith said the details of about 3,000 suspicious profiles accessed from the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal helped them make headway in many of the latest cases. Those found to have no direct involvement during the probe were issued warnings and allowed to go under supervision pending further investigation, they said.

Data from the special drive revealed that online trading scams (34.8 %) topped the list of cyber financial crimes in Kerala, followed by job scams (33 %), phishing/smishing (6.5 %), online investment scams (6.5), loan app frauds (6.2 %) and misleading advertisements (2 %).

The latest crackdown also aligns with recent findings by national agencies, including CBI which reported over 8.5 lakh mule accounts across the country. Estimates by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre found that the actual figure could exceed 20 lakh. This year alone, Kerala police tracked suspicious transactions in 14,189 accounts, including 6,107 in Ernakulam and 2,090 in Malappuram districts.