A new online portal has been launched in Mumbai to facilitate easy reporting and redressal of cyber crime. It also aims to take the load off the police force and ensure speedy solutions to problems faced by citizens due to increasing incidents of cyber crime.
Shubham Singh, a cyber expert working with the Maharashtra police as a civilian consultant for several years, said the portal is an attempt to help people with quick fixes for smaller issues. “While on the one hand, the police have their work cut out for them, on the other hand cyber fraudsters, too, are quick to cash in on the situation and target unsuspecting people in various ways. The portal will also guide the people to relevant authorities in cases of more serious crimes,” Mr. Singh said.
Ever since the novel coronavirus crisis broke out, the police have had their hands full not only ensuring that people don’t put themselves and others at risk but is also fighting dozens of rumours and attempts at indulging in hate mongering through social media platforms. Recently, the Maharashtra Cyber police issued an advisory instructing members and administrators of WhatsApp groups to refrain from spreading fake news or content that could incite communal unrest.
The portal has been created as a separate section of Cyber World Academy, Mr. Singh’s website that offers online courses in ethical hacking.
All communication can be conducted on this through chat windows.
“The portal will handle cyber crimes like social media fraud, banking frauds, fake news or communally charged posts on social media platforms, etc. Our team, which will be monitoring the portal 24x7, will first understand what the complainant’s issue is, offer solutions if possible or coordinate with the concerned police station or agency. Often, a simple online complaint suffices in a lot of cases for the authorities to start taking action,” Mr. Singh said.
More serious cases like cyber terrorism and child pornography, he added, are taken up on priority basis and forwarded to the concerned agencies immediately.
“Visitors can drop messages any time as the portal has been programmed to send alerts to the entire team as soon as a message is received,” Mr. Singh said.
COMMents
SHARE