Cyber fraud has emerged as a growing financial threat in Visakhapatnam, with residents losing more than Rs 60 crore between January and August 2026. The recovery rate has remained below 12%, while investigators are also facing increasing difficulty in tracking cybercriminals and solving cases.
The city’s cybercrime police station registered around 140 FIRs based on more than 800 complaints during the 8-month period. Police said a single FIR often covers 8 to 20 complaints of a similar nature, explaining the gap between complaints and FIRs.
In 2025, cybercriminals cheated more than 2,000 people in Vizag, causing losses of around Rs 122 crore. The city currently records an average of around 20 cybercrime FIRs every month.
Investment frauds remain a major concern
A senior police officer said investment frauds linked to online trading platforms, fake share market schemes and loan scams account for nearly 60% of cybercrime cases reported in recent months. Digital arrest scams have declined slightly, but elderly citizens remain vulnerable.
Cases involving OTP fraud, fake KYC updates, malicious APK links and phishing messages have also shown a steady decline, the officer said.
Police noted that financial cybercrime has risen sharply in recent years and has surpassed traditional robberies in terms of monetary losses. Investment frauds are particularly difficult to investigate as large amounts can be moved across multiple states within minutes.
While smaller mule accounts can often be frozen quickly, high-value investment scams are harder to trace, contributing to the low recovery rate.
Police recover Rs 28.5 crore
Despite the challenges, Visakhapatnam city police have refunded around Rs 28.5 crore to more than 1,550 cyber fraud victims over the past few years.
Recently, more than 20 youngsters, including private-sector and government employees, lost over Rs 1 crore in investment scams after being promised quick and high returns through fraudulent stock market schemes.
“We often freeze fraudsters’ accounts within minutes of receiving complaints, but the criminals continue to create new mule accounts. We have found that some unemployed youth and low-income private employees supply bank accounts to fraudsters in return for commissions,” police said.
Police attributed the rise in fraud largely to greed and the attraction of quick profits. “Many people want to double their money within a few days and end up falling prey to fraudsters despite repeated awareness campaigns. In some cases, victims have even attempted suicide after losing large sums,” officials added.
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