According to C.B. Ryshyanth, Superintendent of Police (Wireless), Bengaluru, the number of calls received by the helpline has increased almost 12-fold between 2022 and 2024.
| Photo Credit: File photo
On August 20, Netra Kiran, a private firm employee, received 35 calls from over 30 numbers within an hour. They were all spam calls where people claiming to be from the ‘Finance Recovery Department’ harassed her to transfer money. To report the harassment, she called 112 every few minutes. But upon being redirected to the cybercrime helpline, the calls would get cut after a minute without any response.
“I had heard that you should report cybercrime within the first hour of its occurrence. That is why I kept trying to reach the officials on 112, as it was the emergency response number I was aware of. After getting no response and upon being directed to the cybercrime helpline (1930), I opted to speak to police services. There I was given a number to reach cybercrime officials, but when I called that number, it was out of order,” she said.
Like Ms. Kiran, many people who dial 112 to report cybercrimes often fail to get a response. With the police stressing the need to report the crime within the golden hour, 112 is the first step for many victims.
Srinidhi D., a businessman from Bengaluru, clicked on a link which looked like an authentic bank link and lost ₹10,000.
“I immediately dialled 112. When I was directed to the cybercrime extension, a recorded message said that the operators were busy. I tried again after 10 minutes, and I got the same message and the call ended. I then went to the nearest police station and reported it. What is the use of having an emergency number?”
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Command Centre, Kshama Mishra said that the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) was alerted about this issue a few months ago. “After we had highlighted these concerns, they had taken necessary measures. If it is happening again, we will alert them,” she said.
While this happens on 112 calls, citizens have reported that even when they dial 1930, the dedicated cybercrime helpline, it takes two to three tries to talk to an operator. The police officials attributed this to an increase in the number of calls to the helpline.
According to C.B. Ryshyanth, Superintendent of Police (Wireless), the number of calls received by the helpline has increased almost 12-fold between 2022 and 2024. “In 2022, it received 1,30,333 calls. In 2023, we received 4,67,258 calls and in 2024, until July 31, we have already received 7,39,299 calls, and the number might double by the end of the year.”
He said that as the calls keep increasing, the number of respondents is also being increased accordingly. He said that citizens should directly dial 1930 in case of cybercrime emergencies.
None of the officials were able to explain why the calls, which get diverted to 1930 from 112, do not get responses most of the time, except calling it a technical glitch.
