Turkish security forces have detained 37 suspects accused of defrauding people by opening fake banking websites, in ongoing operations conducted in seven cities across Turkey, media reports said Monday.

The public prosecutor's office in the Gebze district of northwestern Turkey's Kocaeli province launched a probe into the fraud incident and issued arrest warrants for 42 suspects.

The anti-cybercrime branch of the Provincial Security Directorate conducted simultaneous operations in the northwestern provinces of Kocaeli and Istanbul, western Manisa province, the southern provinces of Osmaniye and Antalya, and the northeastern provinces of Rize and Ardahan.

The investigation also revealed that five of the suspects for which arrest warrants have been issued have already served jail time for similar crimes.