With the advent mobile Internet, cyber crimes are on the rise, a senior police officer heading the cyber crime division said. According to him, the Cyber Crime Police Station (CCPS), on an average, gets at least three cases every week.
A majority of the cases are difficult to investigate, as the accused operate from other countries. Online frauds (phishing) and hacking are on the rise despite repeated alerts from the department to create awareness.
“While phishing cases were earlier restricted to metropolitan cities, we are getting complaints from rural areas as well these days. Fraudsters trap gullible people who access the Internet through mobile phones,” the officer said.
To prevent phishing, CCPS sends bulk alert messages to mobile phone users warning them not to entertain mails and messages which lure them with gifts and goodies.
In addition to this, cyber crime officials hold regular interactions with banks, IT companies and other major institutions, urging citizens to follow guidelines to ensure safe transactions.
Messages cautioning against online frauds are also sent to government offices, IT companies and the heads of district police to disseminate information to their staff and the general public by distributing pamphlets and other means to create awareness, he said.
