Fraudsters Feast on Innocence

After consistently ranking among the states with the lowest cybercrime cases in India—recording only two cases in 2018 and 2019, and eight cases in 2020 and 2022—Nagaland has recently experienced a sharp increase in incidents. As per data provided by the state police from the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal, a total of 1,040 complaints related to cybercrime were recorded in Nagaland between January 2024 and July 31, 2025 (19 months), amounting to financial losses of nearly INR 15 crore. These staggering numbers reflect the magnitude of fraudulent activities occurring in the state, deceiving individuals from all walks of life, including innocent citizens, officers, and even organisations. The sudden spike in fraud cases indicates a few possibilities—either a growing awareness among the public, an increase in fraudulent activities, or both. The truth is likely to lie somewhere in between.

Well, swindling and cyber fraud are not new to Nagaland. For instance, Ponzi schemes have been active in the state for years, duping thousands of unsuspecting individuals of their hard-earned money and even life savings. Not long ago, one fake investment scam called HPZ Token rocked the state, forcing the Nagaland cybercrime police to issue a statement warning the people against fraudsters. Earlier this year, the special court of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Dimapur, Nagaland, declared one Bhupesh Arora, the main accused in the INR 2,200-crore HPZ Token fake investment case, a fugitive economic offender. But this is not the only scam in the state. In fact, fraudsters are continuously coming up with new tricks to deceive vulnerable targets. Some of the common tricks scammers use to defraud people in India are impersonating TRAI representatives threatening to disconnect phone services, fake digital arrests, easy earning for simple tasks, fraudulent customs and credit card transaction scams, false money transfers and KYC updates, besides scams related to employment, lottery, investment, romance, charity, tech support, phishing, etc. Despite repeated warnings from the concerned authorities, including the RBI, many continue to fall prey to the vicious designs of fraudsters. This is another area of concern.

While anybody can become a target of scammers, not all become victims. One can keep fraudsters at bay by staying alert and vigilant at all times. Any investment that promises huge returns in a short span of time, a scheme that is too good to be true, or scam calls should be reported to the police. Sensitive personal information like bank details and OTPs should not be shared with unknown persons. We should remain vigilant and shed our gullible nature.