PATNA: Bihar Police’s Economic Offences Unit (EOU) has formed a dedicated intelligence unit to curb the alarming rise in cybercrime, as 1.10 lakh complaints have been received and scammers have cheated people of nearly Rs 500 crore in the state this year alone.

The specialised intelligence unit has been tasked with gathering inputs on cybercriminals and their networks, enabling swift and technologically advanced action, distinct from conventional investigation methods. The unit has conducted an in-depth study of cybercrime patterns and cracked down on several organised gangs.

ADG (EOU) Nayyar Hasnain Khan said the intelligence team is tracking suspicious mobile numbers, websites, URLs and digital transactions to trace the source of cybercrime. With the cooperation of telecom companies, around 9,300 mobile numbers and about 4,000 IMEI numbers used in cyber offences have been blocked so far, he said.

The EOU’s intelligence unit is also receiving crucial assistance from the ‘Pratibimb’ portal, a GIS-based software module developed in collaboration with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Union Home Ministry. The portal helps police and law enforcement agencies track the identity, location and networks of criminals based on online complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP).

Using technical inputs from Pratibimb and in-depth analysis of mobile data, the EOU launched a special drive under ‘Cyber Prahar’, during which 171 cybercriminals were arrested.