The Punjab Police has frozen more than 63,000 bank accounts over the past one year for alleged links to cyber fraud transactions to the tune of Rs 540.34 crore, a top official said on Saturday.
The official said since 2024, around Rs 64 crore of defrauded amount has been recovered and returned to victims, including approximately Rs 38.42 crore recovered since January 1, 2025. During the same period, 62,253 cybercrime cases have been registered across the state.
Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said, "The large-scale crackdown against cyber fraud gangs has not only enabled Punjab Police to freeze thousands of fraudulent bank accounts and recover defrauded money, but has also helped expose organised cybercrime networks operating across the country."
Punjab Police investigations have led to significant breakthroughs in identifying the methods, financial trails and interstate cybercrime networks, the DGP said, asserting that through timely intervention, advanced technological capabilities and meticulous financial tracking, "the Cyber Crime Division has been able to disrupt fraud networks, protect citizens' savings and ensure that offenders are brought to justice."
Among districts, the Jalandhar Commissionerate froze the highest number of accounts linked to cyber fraud -- 16,032 -- leading to the recovery of Rs 6.81 crore.
Kapurthala followed with 7,344 frozen accounts and recoveries amounting to Rs 2.56 crore.
In Hoshiarpur, 7,201 accounts were frozen, resulting in recoveries of Rs 3.96 crore while 6,930 accounts were frozen in Ferozepur, leading to recoveries of Rs 93.16 lakh
Similarly, Tarn Taran police froze 5,229 accounts, resulting in recoveries worth Rs 6.97 crore. Jalandhar Rural recovered Rs 55.94 lakh by freezing 4,475 accounts.
Additionally, 1,760 bank accounts were frozen in Sangrur and 2,685 accounts were frozen in Fatehgarh Sahib.
Highlighting one of the recent successes, the DGP said the Cyber Crime Division successfully cracked a cyber extortion case involving a Punjab resident based in Canada.
The victim was contacted through social media on the pretext of resolving personal problems through online 'ardas' (prayer), persuaded to share a video and subsequently blackmailed with threats of circulating it on social media.
The Cyber Crime Division arrested three persons in this connection and recovered around Rs 3.49 lakh, along with 500 USD.
The police also seized 29 mobile phones, one laptop, one dongle (router), one tablet and 38 empty mobile phone boxes. The case is among several successful operations carried out by the division in recent months, the DGP said.
To strengthen public awareness and prevent cyber fraud, Punjab Police has also undertaken an extensive outreach campaign across the state.
In the past one year, the Cyber Crime Division has organised 129 awareness programmes, with 50 conducted in Mansa, 44 in Sri Muktsar Sahib, 31 in Ludhiana, 27 in Hoshiarpur, 25 in Jalandhar, 23 in Khanna and 19 in Bathinda.
Special Director General of Police (Cyber Crime) V Neeraja said, "Besides tackling cyber fraud gangs, the State Cyber Crime Division is also working towards making citizens aware on how to avoid scammers' traps.
The police is also focusing on sensitising youngsters regarding fake online grooming, cyber bullying, sextortion, fake friendships and gaming platforms, which may lead to the sharing of sensitive personal information."
She said the sustained enforcement drive, coupled with large-scale public awareness campaigns, reflects Punjab Police's multi-pronged strategy to combat cybercrime, safeguard citizens' savings and strengthen confidence in digital transactions across the state.