Cybercrime in India, You must know for protection

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Cybercrime in India is increasing day by day. Indian cyber cell is receiving thousands of reports every day related to cybercrime and fraud.

Statistics show that over 25,800 online banking frauds were reported in 2017, which amounted to nearly ₹179 crores.

Apart from these, online financial frauds have also become an everyday occurrence. Each day, thousands of innocent individuals fall prey to online banking and credit/debit card frauds.

I am providing a list of cybercrimes. You can see the list below:

  1. CHILD PORNOGRAPHY/ CHILD SEXUALLY ABUSIVE MATERIAL (CSAM): Child sexually abusive material (CSAM) refers to a material containing a sexual image in any form, of a child who is abused or sexually exploited. Section 67 (B) of IT Act states that “it is punishable for publishing or transmitting of material depicting children in the sexually explicit act, etc. in electronic form.
  2. CYBERBULLYING: A form of harassment or bullying inflicted through the use of electronic or communication devices such as a computer, mobile phones, laptops, etc.
  3. CYBER STALKING: Cyberstalking is the use of electronic communication by a person to follow a person, or attempts to contact a person to foster personal interaction repeatedly despite a clear indication of disinterest by such person; or monitors the internet, email or any other form of electronic communication commits the offense of stalking.
  4. CYBER GROOMING: Cyber Grooming is when a person builds an online relationship with a young person and tricks or pressures him/ her into doing a sexual act.
  5. ONLINE JOB FRAUD: Online Job Fraud is an attempt to defraud people who are in need of employment by giving them a false hope/ promise of better employment with higher wages.
  6. ONLINE SEXTORTION: Online Sextortion occurs when someone threatens to distribute private and sensitive material using an electronic medium if he/ she doesn’t provide images of a sexual nature, sexual favors, or money.
  7. VISHING: Vishing is an attempt where fraudsters try to seek personal information like Customer ID, Net Banking password, ATM PIN, OTP, Card expiry date, CVV, etc. through a phone call.
  8. SEXTING: Sexting is an act of sending sexually explicit digital images, videos, text messages, or emails, usually by cell phone.
  9. SMSHING: Smishing is a type of fraud that uses mobile phone text messages to lure victims into calling back on a fraudulent phone number, visiting fraudulent websites or downloading malicious content via phone or web.
  10. SIM SWAP SCAM: SIM Swap Scam occurs when fraudsters manage to get a new SIM card issued against a registered mobile number fraudulently through the mobile service provider. With the help of this new SIM card, they get One Time Password (OTP) and alerts, required for making financial transactions through a victim’s bank account. Getting a new SIM card against a registered mobile number fraudulently is known as SIM Swap.
  11. DEBIT/CREDIT CARD FRAUD: Credit card (or debit card) fraud involves unauthorized use of another’s credit or debit card information for the purpose of purchases or withdrawing funds from it.
  12. IMPERSONATION AND IDENTITY THEFT: Impersonation and identity theft is an act of fraudulently or dishonestly making use of the electronic signature, password or any other unique identification feature of any other person.
  13. PHISHING: Phishing is a type of fraud that involves stealing personal information such as Customer ID, IPIN, Credit/Debit Card number, Card expiry date, CVV number, etc. through emails that appear to be from a legitimate source.
  14. SPAMMING: Spamming occurs when someone receives unsolicited commercial messages sent via email, SMS, MMS, and any other similar electronic messaging media. They may try to persuade the recipient to buy a product or service, or visit a website where he can make purchases, or they may attempt to trick him/ her into divulging bank account or credit card details.
  15. RANSOMWARE: Ransomware is a type of computer malware that encrypts the files, storage media on communication devices like desktops, Laptops, Mobile phones, etc., holding data/information as a hostage. The victim is asked to pay the demanded ransom to get his device decrypts.
  16. VIRUS, WORMS & TROJANS:
    Computer Virus is a program written to enter to your computer and damage/alter your files/data and replicate themselves.
    Worms are malicious programs that make copies of themselves again and again on the local drive, network shares, etc.
    A Trojan horse is not a virus. It is a destructive program that looks as a genuine application. Unlike viruses, Trojan horses do not replicate themselves but they can be just as destructive. Trojans open a backdoor entry to your computer which gives malicious users/programs access to your system, allowing confidential and personal information to be theft.
  17. DATA BREACH: A data breach is an incident in which information is accessed without authorization.
  18. DENIAL OF SERVICES /DISTRIBUTED DOS:
    Denial of Services (DoS) attack is an attack intended for denying access to computer resources without the permission of the owner or any other person who is in charge of a computer, computer system or computer network.
    A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is an attempt to make an online service unavailable by overwhelming it with traffic from multiple sources.
  19. WEBSITE DEFACEMENT: Website Defacement is an attack intended to change the visual appearance of a website and/ or make it dysfunctional. The attacker may post indecent, hostile and obscene images, messages, videos, etc.
  20. CYBER-SQUATTING: Cyber-Squatting is an act of registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with an intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else.
  21. PHARMING: Pharming is a cyber-attack aiming to redirect a website’s traffic to another, bogus website.
  22. CRYPTOJACKING: Cryptojacking is the unauthorized use of computing resources to mine cryptocurrencies.
  23. ONLINE DRUG TRAFFICKING: Online Drug Trafficking is a crime of selling, transporting, or illegally importing unlawful controlled substances, such as heroin, cocaine, marijuana, or other illegal drugs using electronic means.
  24. ESPIONAGE: Espionage is the act or practice of obtaining data and information without the permission and knowledge of the owner.

How to file a report against Cybercrime in India

You can read the given instructions below to file a report against cybercrime in India.

  • For online reporting of cybrecrime, visit the Cybercrime reporting portal.
  • You can either report a complain pertaining to online Child Pornography (CP)/ Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) or sexually explicit content such as Rape/Gang Rape (CP/RGR) content either anonymously (ie. without revealing your identity) or by revealing your identity. However, as a responsible citizen, you should use the “Report and Track” option for reporting the incident/ crime since it would help the Law enforcement agencies to contact you for further details.
  • To report anonymously, click here. In this case, a user need not provide any personal information. However, information related to the incident/complaint should be complete for the police authorities to take necessary action. It is recommended that a user uploads the evidence with the complaint which would help police authorities for prompt action. However, a complaint can also be reported by providing information like website address, e-mail address, WhatsApp number, etc. Please note that False information provided by the complainant may lead to penal action as per law.
  • To report a crime revealing your identity, click the “Report and track option“. Register by giving your details such as Name and Mobile number. You will receive a One Time Password (OTP) that will be used to verify your phone number. The OTP is valid for 30 minutes. Once you successfully register your mobile number on the portal, you will be able to report the complaint. Fill all the details related to the crime and submit. The complainant will receive a tracking number that can be used to track the progress of the complaint by clicking on the “check status” option on the portal.
    Source: Cybercrime portal

Overview of Cybercrime (Video in Hindi)