Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi told the Assembly on Monday that over 59,000 persons in Odisha have fallen victim to online trade scams over the previous six years.
Majhi added in a written statement that from 2019 and November 2024, the state reported 769 occurrences of internet trading fraud, with 59,437 individuals falling victim to these scams.
The majority of fraud instances involving online trading were reported in 2023 and 2024. In reference to Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati, the chief minister stated that a total of 190 incidents involving the deception of 18,994 persons were reported in 2023, while 472 cases the next year involved the deception of 40,270 people.
He stated that in 2023, the Odisha police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) filed four cases against online traders who were accused of defrauding 18,804 persons.
According to Majhi, the EOW has reported three instances of this type this year, involving 40,219 victims of online fraud.
A dedicated cybercrime section has been operating in Bhubaneswar since September 5, 2023, under the crime branch, the chief minister said, adding that measures have been made to regulate crimes related to internet business.
Identity theft, phony email and social media accounts, hacking, ATM and online banking fraud, credit card fraud, website defacement, cyber pornography, child pornography, phishing, and cyberstalking are among the many cyber offenses that the team specializes in looking into, he said.
Through its specialist sub-units, each concentrating on certain areas of expertise, the unit tackles the growing complexity of cybercrime in Odisha, according to the chief minister.
According to Majhi, the State criminal Record Bureau (SCRB) established a cyber police station in 2004. In 2006, it was transferred to the criminal branch in Cuttack, which has jurisdiction over all of Odisha.
High-value crimes involving frauds totaling more than Rs 25 lakh are handled by the police station.
He noted that it has used the CID strength to examine important cases even though it does not have a certain sanctioned strength.
In 2021, the three current cyber police stations (Berhampur, Rourkela, and Sambalpur) were modernized, and eleven new cybercrime police stations were created. Additionally, the CM stated that all police superintendents’ offices have functioning cybercrime cells.
According to the chief minister, the state also has a 1930 contact center, a cyber help desk, a children and women online abuse monitoring unit, a cyber monitoring & coordination unit, a cyber forensic unit, a social media cell, and a cyber tracing unit that work to handle instances involving cybercrime.
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