The number of cybercrime cases reported in Mysuru city has gone up in the last two months.
More than 90 per cent of the cases registered in the city pertain to ATM/debit card frauds in which gullible bank customers have provided their banking credentials, including confidential information about their accounts.
The spike in the number of cybercrime cases, however, coincides with the post-demonetisation period, beginning November 8, 2016.
While a total of 79 cases were reported in the city from January 1 to October-end last year, the figures from November 1, 2016 to January 18, 2017 stands at 54. “While 18 cases were reported in November 2016, another 23 were reported in December 2016. This month, we already have 13 cases,” an official from the cybercrime police station told The Hindu .
The rise in such cases post-demonetisation has been attributed to the presence of sufficient bank balance in most bank accounts. “Due to the restrictions on withdrawal of money, most bank accounts were flush with funds, making it easier for fraudsters to strike,” an official added.
In several cases, the victims had not only provided the fraudsters, who had called them over phone, with their confidential account information, such as their card numbers and Personal Identification Number (PIN), but also the One Time Passwords (OTP) sent by the bank. Parting of information by the bank customers facilitated cybercriminals to complete the fraudulent transaction.
In most cases, the money from the account is transferred to a digital wallet from where payments are made to recharge mobile phones or to make online payments or purchases.
The cybercrime police, however, claim they have tracked down the fraudulent transactions by identifying the bank account or digital wallet, as well as the mobile number and the location of the criminal in most of the cases. The details had been provided to the jurisdictional police, where the complaint is lodged.
But, the jurisdictional police find it a challenge to locate the criminal as almost all the bank accounts and SIM cards of the mobile bear fictitious addresses.
The cybercrime police also claim that they have managed to ensure the return of the lost money to a few complainants. “If the complaints are received well in time, we will identify the account of the digital wallet and inform the company about the complaint raised. If the money is still in the wallet and has not been used for making other online payments, the funds can be reversed,” said the official citing a recent case in Mysuru, where a government official was able to credit ₹35,000 to her account after she was similarly duped.
