In New Delhi, recognizing the escalating occurrences of cyber malfeasance in India, the Union Home Ministry has inaugurated a distinguished inter ministerial panel chaired by a special secretary (internal security) to formulate tactics for quelling such events.
“The elevated committee will synchronize with pertinent ministries and bureaus to execute comprehensive measures aimed at curtailing cyber malevolence originating from South East Asia directed at India and fostering a robust ecosystem to thwart such transgressions from emanating from alternate geographical regions,” articulated Rajesh Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C).
As per governmental statistics, India witnessed a surge of 60.9 percent in cyber delinquency trends from 2022 to 2023, with over 7,000 cyber delinquency grievances being registered daily in May.
A total of 7,40,957 cyber delinquency grievances have been recorded up to May 2024, whereas 15,56,218 grievances were recorded in 2023. Correspondingly, 9,66,790 cases were logged in 2022, reflecting a spike of 113.7 percent compared to those in 2021.
“This annum has witnessed the recording of significant swindles such as counterfeit trending applications, investment applications & portals, loan applications, dating applications, gaming applications, and algorithmic manipulations,” delineated Kumar.
Prominent scams in 2023 comprised investment applications & portals, loan applications, dating applications, gaming applications, algorithmic manipulations, and matrimony scams. “Cyber deceits are stemming from fraudulent hubs in Southeast Asia such as Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, etc.,” appended Kumar.
According to Kumar, a minimum of 10,000 FIRs have been lodged since January this year under diverse categories of scams, encompassing digital apprehension (4599), trading scam (20043), investment scam (62687), and romantic dating scam (1725).
Per data, fraudsters absconded with Rs 120,30,55,853 through digital apprehension. Similarly, Rs 1420,48,33,765 were siphoned away through trading scams, Rs 222,58,19,236 through investment scams, and Rs 13,23,09,142 taken through romantic dating scams.
“Last year, the country reported over one lakh investment scams,” Kumar remarked.
There has been an escalation in large-scale frauds in 2024. According to data, a total of 6,00,453 complaints of significant fraud were lodged this year, involving Rs 7061.51 crore siphoned away by fraudsters, while agencies managed to freeze Rs 812.72 crore.
“While employing call spoofing, fraudsters masquerade as CBI, RBI, NIA, ED, NCB, and bank officials before their victims,” Kumar revealed.
What perturbs investigative agencies is the discovery that Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS) has reported about 4,000 mule accounts on the national cybercrime reporting portal.
“Mule accounts are those utilized by fraudsters for financial transactions. In truth, syndicates effortlessly entice individuals from the financially weaker strata to utilize their current accounts,” Kumar explained.
I4C, in conjunction with other agencies and financial institutions, has frozen nearly 3.25 lakh mule accounts in the last four months, while over 5.3 lakh SIM cards have been blocked. “Additionally, 3,401 social media accounts, websites, and WhatsApp groups have been blocked in the last four months,” Kumar stated.
He elucidated that upon analyzing data from the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) of I4C and inputs from states and Union Territories, a significant surge in cybercrime incidents targeting India, predominantly originating from Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos, was observed.
“We are also involved in collaborative endeavors with various social media intermediaries (Google, Microsoft, Meta, among others) and central and state law enforcement agencies to counter cybercrime threats emanating from the Southeast Asian region,” Kumar affirmed.
He disclosed that cybercrime operations headquartered in these countries employ an extensive repertoire of deceptive tactics, including recruitment drives exploiting social media to entice Indian youths with bogus employment opportunities. These individuals are coerced into participating in various cyber scams, often communicating via messaging platforms using Indian SIM cards to target Indian nationals,” he concluded.
He disclosed that on Monday, at least 1,450 such youths ensnared by cybercriminals were protesting for repatriation to India. “The Cambodian Police have apprehended 60 individuals, and we are liaising with Cambodian authorities to facilitate their return,” Kumar remarked.
He stated that to date, 360 individuals coerced into such activities have been repatriated to India.