Srinagar, 13 July (H.S.): Cracking down on cybercrime, police in north Kashmir’s Handwara and Sopore have collectively recovered over Rs 80 lakh lost to various online scams.

In Handwara, officials today said that they have recovered Rs 28 lakh so far this year in connection with online scams.

Of this, as per details, Rs 16 lakh has already been returned to victims, while the remaining Rs 12 lakh has been secured and will be disbursed following legal procedures and court orders.

Officials said that the recoveries followed swift investigations by the Cyber Cell under the supervision of senior officers, enabling timely freezing of fraudulent transactions after receiving complaints from residents across Police District Handwara.

Meanwhile, the Cyber Police Station Sopore, since its inception, has acted on 279 complaints involving a range of cyber frauds-including app-based investment scams, phishing, SIM cloning and impersonation.

Officials said that Rs 1.52 crore was reported lost in total, of which Rs 52.25 lakh has been successfully recovered and returned to victims.

An additional Rs 23.81 lakh has been frozen in accounts linked to the fraudsters, pending legal restitution.

Officials said that the Cyber Police Station Sopore is now fully functional, handling not just investigation and redressal “but also conducting awareness programmes in schools, colleges, and public spaces across Sopore Police District.”

Authorities have urged citizens to remain vigilant online and to report any suspicious digital activity without delay.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Krishan Kumar