The COVID-19 pandemic has caused job losses, deaths, widespread health concerns and gutted businesses, but there’s was also another danger lurking.
According to the Hyderabad city police, cyber crime has almost doubled in the last one year, and most of it can be attributed to the sudden transition of work from the security of office spaces to the vulnerability of working from home.
Cases related to cyber crime went up from 1,393 registered last year to 2,456 in 2020, and with more 10 days left for this year to end, police said the number would increase. So far, they have received 7,100 petitions.
Since March, cases of financial frauds, online gaming and stalking have seen an upward trend with an increase in the usage of the internet during the pandemic.
Urging internet users to “think before you click”, Hyderabad Additional Commissioner of Police (Crimes and SIT) Shikha Goel said a majority of cases amounted to financial frauds, including One-Time Password and OLX frauds.
“This year alone we have registered 634 cases pertaining to frauds on OLX marketspace,” she said.
Jharkhand hub
Stating that Jamtara, a small town in Jharkhand, is the hub of cyber crimes, Ms. Goel said cybercrime offenders there are giving sleepless nights to the law enforcement agencies across the country. She said that more than 60% of the cybercrimes were linked to Jamtara, which has become digital India’s underbelly.
Online gaming, which is prohibited in both the Telugu States, increased drastically with many people, especially children, sitting at home.
“More children are indulging in online gaming these days. Colour prediction games give instant monetary reward, and as greed increases, people go on playing more games, and finally, they end up losing their money. In some cases, people end their life,” she said.
She said this year, the cyber crime police have arrested 259 fraudsters from 12 different States.
