Ranchi/Bokaro, January 16: A total of 8,674 bank accounts, allegedly linked to cybercriminals, have been frozen in Jharkhand on suspicion that these were being used for phishing activities, a CID official said on Tuesday. The maximum of 2,002 accounts were frozen in Deoghar district, followed by 1,183 in Dhanbad and 959 in Ranchi, he said.

“We received the details of frozen accounts from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and prepared a district and bank-wise list of such information. "The data will be shared with the superintendents of police of all districts and banks for verification of the accounts,” Jharkhand Crime Investigation Department (CID) Director General Anurag Gupta told PTI. Jharkhand: Over 8,600 Bank Accounts Linked to Cybercriminals Frozen on Suspicion for Phishing Activities.

The accounts, he said, were frozen by different police forces from different parts of the country based on complaints on the CFCFRMS (Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System) portal, and ‘1930' helpline for registering cyber crime provided by I4C (Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre).

The centre was established by the Ministry of Home Affairs to provide a framework and eco-system for law enforcement agencies for dealing with cybercrime in a coordinated and comprehensive manner. I4C is envisaged to act as the nodal point to curb cybercrime in the country. "If any person has been cheated and he calls ‘1930', it enters the data on an online portal, and if the money has been credited to fraudulent accounts, it freezes those," the official said. Cybercrimes: One Lakh Cyber Fighters Will Be Trained in Jharkhand To Thwart Jamtara Gangs.

He said the details of such account holders would be traced. The 8,674 bank accounts have been frozen in about a two-year span. “If these accounts are found to be fake or linked to cybercriminals, action will be taken against the account holders," he said. The CID has been carrying out a massive operation against cybercriminals in Jharkhand.

As many as 495 people have been arrested for allegedly being involved in cybercrimes, and FIRs lodged against 107 for cyber frauds in the past three months, Gupta said. Besides, 1,164 mobile phones and 1,725 SIM cards have also been seized during operations against cybercrimes, he said.

Raids against cybercriminals are being conducted regularly in various districts, including Deoghar, Giridih, Bokaro, Jamtara and Ranchi. Sixteen cybercriminals were arrested on Monday from Bokaro district, police said. Bokaro City Deputy Superintendent of Police Kuldeep Kumar said the accused were residing in rented houses near Cooperative Colony. The police also recovered mobile phones, SIM cards, rubber stamps and fake currencies from them, he added.