Archive · 11 Aug 2026
Andhra Pradesh Cybercrime Cases Rise as Recovery Rate Remains Low
Some bad people use computers and phones to trick others and steal their money.
In the state of Andhra Pradesh, this kind of crime is going up.
The police are worried because they can only recover a very small part of the stolen money.
In one year, the thieves stole more than ₹650 crore from the state.
Police got back less than three per cent of that amount.
Thousands of people called a police help line to report their problems.
But very few of those calls turned into official police cases.
Sometimes police freeze bank accounts they think are linked to the thieves.
That caused problems for some innocent people too.
Police say catching the thieves is hard because they often work together from other states.
Cybercrime cases in Andhra Pradesh are rising while the recovery rate of stolen money remains below three per cent.
The state's 1930 toll-free helpline receives an average of 9.29 lakh calls a year, with more than 72,000 related to cybercrime.
Cybercriminals siphoned off more than ₹650 crore from the state in the past year, while police seized ₹116.7 crore.
Police attribute the difficulty in detection and recovery to inter-state gangs and the under-reporting of cases.
Freezing of bank accounts linked to suspicious transactions has also hit people unconnected to the offences, including a Kurnool mobile shop owner.
- Who
- Cybercrime victims, police officials, and a cyber law expert in Andhra Pradesh
- What
- A rise in cybercrime cases in Andhra Pradesh with a low rate of recovery of stolen funds
- When
- Over the past year, with cases continuing to rise
- Where
- Andhra Pradesh, including Kurnool, Anantapur and Nandyal districts
- Why
- Inter-state gangs, under-reporting of cases, and lack of coordination among police agencies make detection and recovery difficult
Police Position
Expert and Victim Concerns
When Should an FIR Be Registered?
Police Position
Police say not every cyber complaint requires an FIR; for losses below ₹50,000 victims can apply through the portal and recovery is possible.
Expert and Victim Concerns
A cyber law expert says at least 50 per cent of complaints should be converted into FIRs, noting that registering only around 2,000 FIRs from 72,000 calls raises serious questions.
Freezing Accounts Linked to Frauds
Police Position
Police freeze bank accounts linked to suspicious transactions as part of investigating cybercrime and recovering stolen money.
Expert and Victim Concerns
Freezing has also affected people unconnected to the offences; a Kurnool shop owner had his entire account of ₹1.75 lakh frozen over a ₹14,500 payment.
- State
- Andhra Pradesh
- Helpline calls (annual average)
- 9.29 lakh
- Cybercrime-related calls
- Over 72,000 (more than 8% of all calls)
- Amount siphoned (past year)
- Over ₹650 crore (₹652 crore per official data)
- Amount frozen
- ₹116.7 crore
- FIRs registered (annual)
- 2,528
- Recovery rate
- Below 3 per cent
- Complaint portal threshold
- Losses below ₹50,000 can be handled through the portal without an FIR