Cybercrimes: A web of deceit

Hameed Ashraf | NT

The internet is one of the greatest revolutionary innovations of our times and the World Wide Web is a vast repository of data including user profiles, passwords and other sensitive information that millions of users have stored using computers or smartphones. It is also being frequented by cyber criminals, who take advantage of the vast geographical reach and anonymity that the internet offers, target the gullible through malware attacks and phishing scams.

Therefore, it is extremely necessary for the people to keep their data safe. Recently a resident of Vijayanagar received a call and a woman at the other end read out a script, “Hello, I’m calling from (a popular firm) and this is to inform you that you have received an yearly cashback of Rs 6,999. Do you want to withdraw this amount or cancel the offer?”

“I disconnected the call. Instead of transferring Rs 6,999 to my account, these frauds might empty my savings,” the resident said

Almost all mobile users do receive such spam calls. However, those hailing from the economically weaker sections of the society and those suffering from financial burdens, especially after the pandemic, often fall prey to these cyber fraudsters.

Since 2019, Karnataka police have registered 32,286 cybercrime cases, but only 7,835 cases have been solved so far. Sources said the highest number of cases have been reported from Bengaluru. Recently Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra had presented a report in legislative council showing that the state managed convictions in only 70 cases.

“Of the 46 cybercrime police stations, eight are in Bengaluru. An exclusive unit has been set up in CID to deal with cybercrime complaints and the police are also employing the advanced technology to investigate the cases,” Jnanendra said.

According to data, cybercrimes involving digital transactions have increased manifolds, as some account holders, who are not so tech savvy, had to switch to digital mode in the midst of pandemic-induced restrictions. They had soft targets of cyber criminals who have forever been on the prowl for the gullible.

Cyber fraudsters don’t lose any opportunity to defraud people. As per the recent reports, scammers have even taken advantage of the popular movies including ‘The Kashmir Files’. The cyber cheats are now circulating the fake links of the movie on social media and WhatsApp to defraud the people who click on them and become their next victim.

Cyber experts say that these are professional attempts to scam people. “There appears to be many reasons why this is happening and one of them is that it is really hard for the police to track cybercrimes,” an expert who does not want to be named, told News Trail.

Earlier the term cybercrime was used when a user unwittingly entered his credentials into a suspicious or unreliable portal and then his details were used for fraudulent transactions by scammers. But now with the advanced technology, even cyber crimes have come up with more sophisticated methods to trap the victims. “Frauds can happen just over a phone call or a link sent to any mobile phone via message,” the expert added.

It’s been quite a while when people used to get emails from sources claiming to be a bedridden king’s relative or an official who wants to transfer an unbelievable amount of money to your bank. Now, people may laugh about it, but lots of people fell for those emails. The cybercriminals use the latest technology and keep changing their modus operandi to trick people.

However, many victims of such cyber frauds feel it is futile to file a complaint after losing money. “There is nothing anyone can do now, my money is lost forever and there is no point in filing a complaint,” a recent victim of cyber fraud, who lost Rs 3,500 from his account, said.

Central and state governments have been regularly conducting programmes on cyber security to enable officials to fight cyber attacks. Though the governments are investing to keep up with the latest cybercrime security, frequen