The number of cyber crimes has dropped in Coimbatore, thanks to awareness spread by the cyber crime wing of the police among the public and using advanced methods to nab the criminals.

According to cyber cell inspector P.N.Rajan, 1,343 cases were reported in the city in 2014 and 1296 were cracked. The following year out of the 1,221 cases, more than 900 were solved.

“The public has become more aware of the crimes these days. This has prompted the cyber criminals to change their modus operandi. Earlier mobile phone users would receive a text message asking for bank account details to receive the money they have won in a lottery. Now the criminals have started sending personalised messages to users.” he told the Covai Post.

“Cyber criminals watch the online space carefully and choose their victim very carefully,” he added.

The department recently solved a case of money transfer between two Coimbatore-based companies. One of the firms initiated a cash transfer of Rs. 10 lakhs to another firm. A cyber criminal from Gandhidham in Gujarat diverted the entire money to his account. “It took two-months for our team to identity and trace the person. The criminal, identified as 65-year-old Raju Chandar, on interrogation admitted his involvement in the case. The entire money was recovered from him,” Rajan said.

Women are more vulnerable and are targetted often. “A woman in Saravanampatti was harassed and threatened by two youth, who used fake identity proof to obtain SIM cards. When they came to know that the woman has filed a police complaint, they stopped using the same SIM card. We found out the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number of the youth. With this we were able to obtain the mobile phone history of the culprits and traced the duo, who are now in prison,” the official said.