Bhopal Residents Lose ₹16 Crore to Cyber Fraud in 8 Months

Bhopal residents have lost nearly ₹16 crore to cyber fraud over the past eight months, with over 300 FIRs registered and 39 additional complaints awaiting FIR status. Police officials acknowledge cybercrime has become a major challenge, with fraudsters targeting people across all age groups using increasingly sophisticated tactics.

Victims face multiple obstacles in recovering their money. Even after reporting fraud and having suspected accounts frozen, many have not received reimbursement. Police attribute delays to insufficient manpower for conducting raids against mule account holders spread nationwide. The complaint filing process through cyber helplines has also been criticized as lengthy and difficult, allowing fraudsters to transfer money through multiple accounts before recovery efforts can proceed.

In January 2025, new e-Zero FIR guidelines lowered the mandatory FIR registration threshold from ₹1 lakh to ₹25,000 for cyber financial fraud cases, capturing previously unreported smaller frauds.