Human rights inspector-general Navin Kumar Singh, who also heads the cyber wing of state police, has advised victims of phishing and fraudulent phone calls to dial 100 and share information if they are not willing to lodge an FIR to avoid questioning by cops. He assured that identities of complainants would be kept a secret.

Singh’s assurance comes days after a bank officer received a call on her mobile phone informing that her debit card had been blocked since it was not linked to her Aadhaar number. When she refused to share the details, the caller hurled abuses at her.

When she narrated her woes to her colleagues, she learnt that they too were facing the same problems regularly. But, she did not lodge a police complaint fearing that cops would call her every now and then to conduct the probe.

“She should have just dialled 100 and passed on the caller’s number. She can do that even now. Her identity would be kept a secret. Our main job is to trace the caller first. We receive a couple of such complaints everyday on our emergency service number (100) and the outcomes are quite heartening. In the recent months, more than 60 per cent of the culprits were caught and put behind the bars,” Singh told The Telegraph on Monday.

He said most of the groups engaged in cyber fraud in Jharkhand had shifted to Bihar where they had secured multiple SIM cards of different telecom companies using

fake identity and address proofs. Many of them have also started calling people through internet calls making it extremely difficult for the cops to nab them.

“But we are doing our best. We have begun sharing information with our Bihar counterparts. The Union home ministry, too, has issued a set of new directives to tackle cyber crime which were being strictly followed. The cyber world is not confined to the boundaries of states and countries. Handling cyber crime is a challenge for most the experienced cops too,” he said.

Singh said personnel engaged in cyber policing had been directed to check their personal emails regularly and track people who send phishing emails. He added that the cops had also been asked to try to locate the criminals who make fraudulent calls seeking banking details.

He added that people could also lodge their complaints online at e-Sahaj portal which was launched by the Union home ministry on September 18. He added that the Supreme Court, too, had issued a number of directives to deal with the problem.