According to the recently released National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, India has recorded a consistent rise in cybercrime cases, escalating from 50,035 cases in 2020 to 52,974 in 2021 and further to 65,893 in 2022. The number of registered cybercrime cases in India surged by 24.4% in 2022 compared to the preceding year.
Telangana has once again reported the highest number of cybercrimes for the second consecutive year, experiencing a significant surge of 48.5% from 10,303 cases in 2021 to 15,297 in 2022. The state's overall cybercrime rate (per lakh population) stands at 40.3, markedly exceeding the national average of 4.8.
Following Telangana in the rankings are Karnataka with a crime rate of 18.6, Andaman and Nicobar Islands (7), Maharashtra (6.6), and Goa (5.7).
But what is the reason behind this surge in Telangana? BOOM spoke to experts who provided insights into the matter.
Liberal reporting of FIRs
According to the experts, the ‘increase in registration of crime by police’ should not be confused with ’rise in crime’. Speaking to BOOM, Rupesh Mittal, a cyber expert based in Telangana clarified that the NCRB report denotes the FIR data and not the complaint data. "In many states complaints do not get translated into FIRs. However, Telangana's cyber cells who receive complaints via National Cybercrime Reporting Portal and other helpline numbers, proactively register FIRs and also get to the resolution to some extent, in many of the cases," he said.
According to Pragati Ratan, a cyber forensic expert working with Telangana police, this trend can be traced back to the heightened awareness initiatives conducted by the police regarding the helpline number for financial frauds, designated as 1930. "The helpline number for reporting financial frauds is yet to be implemented in many states. However, here we have a designated team which receives the complaints and promptly transfers it to the local police stations," he said.
A recent RTI report filed by by Jeetendra Ghadge, founder of the Young Whistleblowers Foundation also highlighted the same. According to the report, the state police recorded less than 2% of the complaints received through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal in their registered FIRs. In light of the abysmal scenario, Telangana stood as an exception, with the state successfully registering the highest number of FIRs, totaling 17%.
'IT sector boom may have contributed to the rise in cybercrimes'
According to NCRB, in Telangana a remarkable 64.8 percent of the incidents were driven by fraudulent motives, totaling 42,710 cases. Subsequently, extortion accounted for 5.5 percent (3,648 cases), while sexual exploitation constituted 5.2 percent (3,434 cases).
Mittal told BOOM that with the recent boom in the IT industry, the state has also seen a significant growth in its human capital, particularly post-pandemic. Consequently, a tech-savvy community has emerged, who are becoming the victims of cybercrime.
He said, "We have noticed a discerning trend of job frauds. The fact that Telangana has been witnessing an uptick in start-ups, is maliciously being used by bad actors to fabricate false employment opportunities. We have job search engines like Naukri.com where they pose as recruiters, shortlist candidate for fake roles, conduct fake interview and before 'recruiting' ask for money in order to do background education checks or for visa processing."
This way, the scam starts with a small amount and eventually run into lakhs. The victim is told that they will be reimbursed after they secure the job, which never happens, he added.
Apart from this, other scams, such as, UPI frauds, credit cards and debit card frauds are also prevalent in the state, according to Mittal.
Shedding light on other scams, Ratan said that a lot of investment scams in the name of cryptocurrency have also been around lately. Sextortion scams which are being traced from Rajasthan, Assam, border regions of Kolkata and fake job scams via WhatsApp international calls continue to be registered.
Elaborating on these scams, he said, "We have noticed that now all the duped money is transferred to Dubai. Similarly, the recent WhatsApp numbers through which fake job offers are being circulated have been traced to Pakistan. Although the numbers are bought in India but are given the WhatsApp access in Pakistan. The same has been conveyed to the Ministry of External Affairs."
Lastly, with the ongoing increase in cybercrime cases, Ratan offered a piece of guidance, suggesting that victims promptly report financial frauds within 24 hours. He explained, "If a victim reaches out within 24 hours, then there is at least some chance that they may get the duped money back. Beyond 24 hours, the money is settled by the banks in secondary accounts, tracing which is very difficult for the investigating officer."