And for a Friday ……. increasing incidences of Cybercrime …. Frauds & “ Digital Arrest “ …… some thoughts …. some musings …….
In every city & across the country the number of cyber frauds & cyber crimes are increasing exponentially ….. few specifics reported in newspapers illustrate the ingenuity , preparedness , deep knowledge & the very systematic manner in which the cyber crimes are committed & the self confidence & impunity to beat the legal & surveillance system …..:A judge of Punjab Govt books a room in the Govt Guest house in Bangalore thru Govt channels …. the CBI office assistant uses a website to get the number of the Govt Guest house ….. & finally the Judge on arrival finds he had paid the online advance to fraudsters …… in South Mumbai a 83 years old woman was purportedly put under Digital arrest & 7.7 crores wiped out of her assets & bank accounts over a four day period …..a former MLA from Bidar district underwent fraud police station verification , court room drama , judgements etc etc for a week all virtual ….& finally got duped of 31 lakhs ……… a 57 year old woman was fixed by a deep fake video of Sadhguru promoting a stock trading platform , AI generated fake ….the woman lost 3.7 crores between Feb25 & April 3 this year ……many many more incidences …..the current Police & Cyber crime cells are understaffed, underskilled & lack resources to cope up with the increasing crimes ……
”Digital Arrest” is a very sophisticated scam where Fraudsters impersonate as law enforcement officers complete with proper office settings with State Police emblems … uniformed staff etc all Virtual over phone What’s up & Social media ……use hypnotism, fear &deception to extract money from victims ….. Most people are not even aware that under any law in India there is no such thing as “ Digital Arrest” ……people are not aware that fraudsters use AI to generate original photos , voice over & present “deep fake” as original ……
GOI has set up a help line for Cyber crimes …call 1930…… most important is to be vigilant & not pick up unknown numbers …….even by chance if you pickup & caller identifies as Law enforcement ….. immediately disconnect & call the concerned Agency or local Police station …… no Govt department is authorised to arrest anyone without written & physical court orders …..never share any bank or personal details over phone ….. & do not click any unknown or unverified link of any website for any offer or services …….being Alert & not to panic is the only remedy to counter this menace …….
With increased Digitilisation & most banking & financial systems being paperless …. We all have to be safe …. the vigilant way ….. the informed way…..the SEEGOS way.