Govt Launches Major Initiative to Combat Cybercrime

The government has taken several initiatives to strengthen police capacity to combat cybercrime, including setting up digital forensic and cyber labs, providing specialised training and establishing a separate cyber police unit. Training programmes are also being expanded nationwide to improve officers’ skills in investigating cybercrime cases.

Cybercrime is contributing to family disputes, psychological distress and damage to social reputations. Victims of online harassment, threats and fraud often suffer from stress, fear and frustration. Fake accounts are being used to spread false information, images and videos, damaging individuals’ reputations and harming families and society.

Cybercrime is also causing financial losses, psychological distress, social instability and breaches of personal data security. Fraudsters are stealing money through online and mobile banking services and fake links. They are also stealing personal photos, videos, passwords and other sensitive information for fraudulent purposes.

Special Superintendent of Police (Media) at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Md Sufi Ullah said cases involving cyber fraud, hacking and online harassment were being investigated professionally and diligently, with necessary action taken. Regular surveillance and patrols were also being conducted to combat cybercrime.

He said new modules were being introduced into training programmes at the Cyber Training Centre, Forensic Training Institute (FTI) and Detective Training School (DTS) for officers involved in cybercrime investigations. Police Headquarters had also recently launched a nationwide Training of Trainers (ToT) course, which CID officers were attending.

According to CID data, 191 cybercrime cases were filed between September 1, 2025, and September 23, 2026, including 32 General Register (GR) cases and 159 Criminal Register (CR) cases. A total of 101 people were also arrested on cybercrime charges during the year.

Experts say cybercrime is becoming an increasingly serious concern, with offences committed using computers, mobile phones, the internet and other digital technologies.

Scammers are luring people with promises of earning money from home through part-time work or by liking YouTube videos. They target homemakers, students and unemployed young people through social media and WhatsApp messages. Initially, they offer bonuses of Tk 1,000 or Tk 2,000 to gain victims’ trust. They then persuade them to invest lakhs of taka to complete various “tasks” before shutting down the accounts.

A survey found that ordinary customers had lost hundreds of crores of taka to such financial scams in the past year alone.

Additional Police Commissioner Md Shafiqul Islam, chief of the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), said cybercriminals were being brought to justice. Police remained active in combating crime and ensuring the safety of people and their property, he added.

Experts say cyberbullying and online fraud are disrupting students’ education and daily lives. False news and misinformation are spreading rapidly, creating panic, confusion and conflict.

They attribute the growing risks to a lack of awareness about technology, weak passwords, clicking on unfamiliar links, visiting fake websites, sharing excessive personal information on social media and inadequate knowledge of cybersecurity.

Associate Professor and Chairman of the University of Dhaka’s Department of Criminology Md Rezaul Karim Sohag said cybercrime was increasing rapidly alongside technological advancement.

Ordinary and lower-middle-income people are among the most vulnerable, he said. Thousands of people are losing their lifetime savings through OTP sharing, fraudulent phone calls, deepfake video scams, cryptocurrency schemes and online gambling. Many suffer psychological distress, while some are even driven towards death, he added.

Experts have urged people not to click on unfamiliar links or share personal identification numbers (PINs) and one-time passwords (OTPs) with strangers. They have also advised caution when sharing personal photos and information on social media.

DMP Deputy Commissioner (Media and Public Relations) Md Akter Hossain said police were working diligently to combat cybercrime and bring offenders to justice. The DMP’s Detective Branch has a cyber lab to strengthen its capacity to tackle such crimes. Approval has also been granted to establish a forensic lab at the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit. Steps will be taken to provide prompt training to officers investigating digital crime cases, he added.

According to DMP data, 88 cybercrime cases were filed in the capital’s Ramna division between January 1 and October 23 this year, and 163 people were arrested. In Lalbagh, 23 people were arrested in 22 cases; in Wari, 24 in 12 cases; in Motijheel, 49 in 33 cases; in Tejgaon, 49 in 53 cases; in Mirpur, 27 in 33 cases; in Gulshan, 37 in 38 cases; and in Uttara, 34 in 26 cases.

Police Headquarters said the government was increasing the number of digital forensic and cyber labs to strengthen police capacity to combat cybercrime. As part of the initiative, digital forensic and cyber labs were inaugurated in Chattogram this month, alongside those in Dhaka.

A separate Cyber Police Unit was established in Dhaka on October 1. The unit has 4,592 police personnel and other staff and is led centrally by an additional inspector general of police. Separate initiatives or desks have also been established at divisional, district and police station levels to investigate cybercrime.

Recently, a 10-day specialised Training of Trainers (ToT) course on cybercrime investigations was held at the Police Staff College in Mirpur. A total of 332 police officers received training and will subsequently train investigators working at the field level.

Source: BSS