Roses, chocolates and cyber scam: Punjab cops sound alert on Valentine’s week
Cupid may be busy shooting arrows this Valentine week, but the Punjab Police are watching inboxes. As hearts, roses, and chocolates flood social media timelines, the State police have chosen an unconventional way to join the celebration — by warning people that love online can sometimes come disguised as a scam.
Blending romance with realism, the Punjab Police has rolled out a creative cyber safety awareness campaign through Valentine week, using the language of Rose Day, Chocolate Day, Teddy Day and Propose Day to flag the growing dangers of cybercrime. The messaging is light, playful and witty — but the warning underneath is serious.
“Let kindness bloom like a rose, don’t let fake news prick others,” read the Rose Day post on Punjab Police’s official ‘X’ handle. Chocolate Day came with a sharper twist: “Share chocolates, not OTPs or personal data. Some offers look tempting like chocolate — verify before you click.”
Teddy Day carried a reminder many social media users ignore at their peril: “Not every cute-looking profile is genuine, and fraudsters often hide behind attractive online identities”. On Propose Day, the police had a proposal of their own — pause before you trust. Verify before you fall. Stay alert online.
The campaign, to be continued for the remaining days of the week also, is rooted in alarming numbers. Punjab witnessed a steep surge in cybercrime over the past year, with the State cybercrime helpline receiving more than 35,000 complaints in 2024 — an 82 percent jump compared to the previous year. Financial losses crossed `476 crore, underlining how costly a single careless click can be.
Certain districts bore the brunt. In Ludhiana alone, investors lost an estimated `70 crore to online investment scams in 2024. State police also cracked a `92-crore nationwide “digital arrest” scam, in which fraudsters impersonated law enforcement officials to extort money by threatening victims with fake legal action.
Recent operations underlined the scale of the threat. In Phagwara, police arrested 38 alleged cyber fraudsters, uncovering the use of fake apps to siphon funds and steal private photos and videos for blackmail. Separate crackdowns targeting online child sexual abuse led to the identification of 33 suspects and the seizure of 34 digital devices.
Beyond financial fraud, Punjab Police has flagged a darker trend — the use of social media by gangsters and terrorist groups to influence, radicalise, or recruit young people. Investigators have also found instances of agencies operating from across the border using sophisticated honey-trap tactics, including software that alters voices to impersonate women or security personnel, to extract sensitive information linked to national security.To counter the rising threat, Punjab has set up 28 dedicated cybercrime police stations, blocked thousands of malicious URLs, registered hundreds of FIRs, and expanded its cyber policing infrastructure.
This Valentine Week, the message from Punjab Police is clear: enjoy the romance, savour the chocolates, but guard your data like your heart. Because online, not every love story has a happy ending.
