408 cases of cyber fraud reported in state this year
Source: Chronicle News Service / Sagolsem Bigyan
Imphal, December 15 2023:
With the technology and internet reaching every home and individual, the society is also experiencing increase in cases of cyber-crimes of different types including cyber frauds with many innocent people increasingly becoming victims of cyber financial frauds.
The state too recorded its fair share of such crimes with the current year recording 408 such cyber fraud cases involving Rs 3.29 crore from January 1 to November 20.Out of these, only Rs 48.6 lakh were recovered.
As per official record, 303 such cases were reported in 2020, 408 cases in 2021, and 551 cases in 2022.In an exclusive interview with The People's Chronicle, Cyber Crime police station SP Ningombam John said that financial fraud is one of many cybercrimes in contemporary society and many innocent people often become victims of such frauds.
These crimes are committed not from the state but from different parts of the country.
While having better awareness on cyber frauds and exercising caution is the best way to prevent oneself from becoming victims, in case one has become a victim of such crimes, early reporting is the best way to prevent major financial loss, he emphasised.
The SP also said that once the criminals siphoned off fund from the victim's bank account, it is often hard to recover the stolen money.
Informing that the main reason behind the low recovery rate is belated reporting of such crimes by the victims, he urged the public to report such financial frauds online by visiting www.cybercrime.gov.in as soon as they become aware of the situation.
The web portal is monitored 24/7 and one can also call the helpline number 1930 to register complaint, which is open from 9 am to 6.30 pm only.
However, efforts are on to make it functional 24/7, John assured.
Some of the modus operandi used by cyber financial fraudsters include OTP fraud, loan fraud, online shopping fraud and 'sextortion', among others.
Of them, OTP fraud is mainly used to siphon off fund from one's bank account or credit card.
Often, the criminals impersonate as bank officials and call the victim to get OTP as well as bank account details on the pretext of KYC update or other excuses.
In such situation, one should never share the OTP to anybody as it is a personal security pin for authenticating any transaction.
Even if one has to update KYC, visiting the nearest bank branch is the safest option, he said.
Some criminals impersonate officials of mobile service providers by sending text messages informing the user that their mobile service will be deactivated.
If responded, the criminals will try to get OTP and personal details, elaborated the police officer, while urging the public not to share OTPs under any circumstances.
He also urged the public not to click on any link shared over text message or social media as it may lead to their personal account getting hacked.
There are also fake loan applications offering easy short term loans, he said and urged all to stay away from such offers.
On the other hand, sextortion is another type of cyber crime involving financial extortion.
In such crimes, the criminals send friend request on social media such as Facebook and Instagram.
They would pose as either male or female based on the gender of the victim and initiate close relationship and dirty conversations, which often leads to video calls.
They would screen record the video calls and deep fake sex chats with the victim and send the fake videos to the victim making financial demands while threatening to circulate the video to his friends and family members, he said.
The SP then urged victims of such crimes not to entertain their demand but to report to the cybercrime police station.