Cyber crime cases highest in Covid pandemic period: RTI query

Nagpur: With the advent of online payment services, cyber crime cases too have risen throughout the country, and Nagpur is no exception. In the last six years, from 2016 to September 2021, the number of such cases is rising steadily, and it was the highest during the Covid-19 pandemic period, say replies to an RTI query provided by the police crime branch.
On other hand, detection rate is woefully low, with just 229 cases being detected out of 793 registered in the six years. These detections led to booking of 159 accused, but no information was provided whether they were arrested or not. The information under RTI Act was provided by assistant commissioner-cum-public information officer (PIO) of the crime branch in response to queries by veteran RTI activist Abhay Kolarkar.
The reply informed 173 cases of cheating through various means were recorded in the last six years, while 82 cases were online cheating. In the same period, 35 cases of online booking fraud were reported and 63 of cheating through debit and credit cards. About 65 cases were registered for cheating through online banking.
Though the RTI data is of six years, the coronavirus pandemic period from March 2020 witnessed a steep increase in all cases related to cybercrime like banking frauds, cheating through debit and credit cards, and online booking of goods and materials.
In the pandemic period, just 16 cases are registered against those spreading fake news through social media, despite hundreds of such fake posts being circulated on various social media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and others.
The amount involved in all types of cyber crime cases runs into crores, but due to low detection rate and absence of proper mechanism to prevent such incidents, very few managed to get back their hard-earned money.
According to Kolarkar, despite the government trying its best to spread awareness among people regarding the risks involved in online financial transactions, very few pay attention to it. The majority of victims fall prey to fake offers.
Police officials say most victims do not even come forward to lodge a police complaint, apprehending embarrassment or due to the small amount lost, and therefore the number of registered cases may not depict the reality.
Police said almost every day all users of social media are bombarded with hundreds of fake messages like lotteries, where people get lured in their greed for easy money. They share all their details with strangers without verifying credentials. They repent only after their money gets deducted from their bank accounts. A majority of cyber crime victims are women and senior citizens, who are most vulnerable to such frauds, officials said.
BOX
#Cybercrime cases from 2016 to 2021*:
Year ------- Cases ------- Detected ------- Accused ----- Fake News
2016 ------- 96 ---------- 23 ---------------- 23 -------------- 4
2017 ------- 81 ---------- 29 ---------------- 34 -------------- 2
2018 ------- 108 ---------- 31 ---------------- 24 --------------3
2019 ------- 112 ---------- 34 ---------------- 31 -------------- 3
2020 ------- 243 ---------- 53 ---------------- 35 -------------- 1
2021* ------- 153 ---------- 59 ---------------- 12 -------------- 3
Total ------- 793 ---------- 229 ---------------- 159 -------------- 16
(Cases till September 2021)
#Cyber Cheating Cases’ types from 2016 to 2021*:
Year ------- CT --------------- OB ------- OC ------- CC/DC ------- OTP
2016 ------- 14 ---------------- 0 ------- 11 ------- 12 ------- 6
2017 ------- 34 ---------------- 1 ------- 18 ------- 9 ------- 1
2018 ------- 29 ---------------- 0 ------- 9 ------- 16 ------- 6
2019 ------- 31 ---------------- 10 ------- 11 ------- 14 ------- 9
2020 ------- 25 ---------------- 16 ------- 20 ------- 4 ------- 8
2021* ------- 40 ---------------- 8 ------- 13 ------- 8 ------- 2
Total ------- 173 ---------------- 35------- 82 ------- 63 ------- 32
(CT- Cheating, OB – Online booking, OC – Online cheating, CC/DC – Credit & Debit cards, OTP – One time password)