Monday, 07 March 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
With the expansion of digital space, the range of cyber crimes has also expanded in recent times across Uttarakhand. There has been a significant rise in cyber crimes in recent years but according to the Director-General of Police (DGP) Ashok Kumar, reporting of such crimes has also increased 10 times in the past three years. He said that the state’s cyber cells have busted several cyber fraud gangs in recent years which had national as well as international networks including the popular ‘power bank’ scam last year.
The Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Cyber Crime of the Special Task Force (STF) Ankush Mishra who also received the Cyber Cop of the Year award in Delhi last year, shared important pieces of information about cyber crimes with The Pioneer. He said that a crime carried out through any electronic equipment using an online medium is called a cyber crime. The authorities take action against cyber frauds broadly under two acts- the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Information Technology Act, 2000. There are five broad zones of cyber crimes which are related to banks, mobiles, computers, social media platforms and women and child-centric crimes. Such crimes cause financial loss, mental harassment of a child or woman that lead to suicide or physical harm and at times, target a particular section of society which are more vulnerable to cyber frauds like senior citizens. Talking about the phases of cyber crimes, Mishra said, “We have observed two phases of cyber crimes so far and the third phase has started across the country. The first phase lasted for 10 years from 2000 to 2010 when traditional methods of cyber crimes were used like calling people as bank employees to dupe people. The second phase started after 2010 which was the mobile data revolution era where the internet became accessible to everyone and the ways to conduct cyber crimes also evolved. Traditional methods took a backseat from 2010 to 2020 and online frauds were being carried out using fake websites, apps, social media platforms, Know Your Customer (KYC) frauds to dupe bank customers and lottery frauds among others to lure people. Now we are in the third phase of the cyber crime that started 2020 onwards where the ways of cheating people have evolved further. The cyber fraudsters have started executing crimes sophisticatedly in terms of cryptocurrency and loan apps that appear more genuine to people and tend to fall prey to frauds more quickly.”
The DSP said that earlier such criminals used to pose as random employees from a company or an organisation to dupe people but now, they impersonate a real person from a real company by making counterfeit websites or fake social media presence to be presented as a reliable person to others.
Mishra said that many download apps without properly verifying them like loan apps that provide loans without any proper documentation which then lead to financial fraud. He said that sextortion through online social media platforms is also a recent trend to extort money from victims by cybercriminals.
He said that in recent months, many are also getting cheated in the investment of cryptocurrency too. “Cryptocurrency is neither legal nor illegal in our country yet but people are investing in it through various mediums without verifying them. They make an investment but they don’t know where it exactly goes as they generally fail to verify the channels through which they invest,” said the DSP. He also mentioned that QR code scan is one of the widespread cyber frauds in recent times. Many scan the random QR codes in the hope to receive money as falsely advertised on some fake websites but people should remember that QR codes are scanned to send the money and not receive any. He said that awareness is the key before indulging in any online activity and even if one falls prey to cyber crime, they should contact the authorities immediately. He also said that issues related to women and children are not reported immediately which make it difficult for authorities to nab criminals sooner. “One should not feel hesitant before filing a complaint about cybercrimes. One can report the crime at cyber cells or call at 1930. Complaints can also be registered at the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) of the central government if the victim feels hesitant.
He said that cyber cells run awareness campaigns across the state to make people aware of cyber crimes. He also said that the authorities have prevented cyber frauds of about Rs two crores since July last year. The DGP Ashok Kumar also appealed to the people to immediately file the complaints against cyber frauds to take action against the criminals on time.
