Gujarat: TOI @ your doorstep in war against cybercrime

AHMEDABAD: In the next one hour in Gujarat, five people will have lost their hard-earned money to phone scammers, sextortionists and online fraud. Cybercrime is on the rise in the state, and the numbers are staggering.
In the past three years, more than 1.2 lakh people have fallen prey to online fraudsters, losing a whopping Rs 814.81 crore in the process. That translates to 115 Gujaratis being duped of Rs 74.41 lakh every day.
It is you, our readers, who is at the frontline in the war against cybercrime. This is why The Times of India and the cyber cell of Gujarat CID (crime) bring to your residential society's doorstep a unique initiative called 'Hacked' to help you protect yourself and your family from online fraudsters.
Join us for an interactive session with experts at your housing society and learn how to stay safe in cyberspace.
Harsh Sanghavi, minister of state, home, said, "As pro-citizens, TOI has always taken up public causes as citizen-service campaigns in the past. The 'Hacked' campaign is the latest in this series of citizen-centric campaigns which TOI has launched. 'Hacked' aims to educate citizens about cyber fraud and other cybercrimes, and to help them protect themselves from these threats."
There has been a 368% rise in reporting of cybercrime cases in the past two years, said the Gujarat government.
In its first interactive workshop to be held at Skydeck Select residential society on the Iscon-Ambli Road in Ahmedabad on Sunday, industry cybersecurity experts and officials from the cyber cell of the Gujarat CID crime will share tips and cover a wide range of topics, including how to spot phishing attempts, how to deal with sextortion and ransomware attacks, the latest cybercrime trends in online banking and the OTP frauds, and how to report suspicious activities.
The experts will acquaint families with the etiquette of dealing with internet-enabled technologies and how to protect computers, mobile phones, and smart devices from cyberthreats. The devices in our hands are first defence line of defence against cyberattacks.