Cybercrime has increased since the pandemic as people have been forced to spend more of their lives online. As the technological revolution pushes people to use their devices to work, play and connect, complaints about new online scams have also increased.
According to the state's online security experts, Kerala is losing Rs 10 crore every month due to such frauds. Official data shows that cybercrimes skyrocketed in 2023 compared to previous years in the state. In five years, cybercrimes increased from 307 in 2019 to more than 3,000 in 2023.
Fraud is one of the most common crimes, and scammers use various tactics to scam people out of money. As these crimes have no geographical boundaries, police face new challenges in fighting and tracking them. The conviction rate is abysmally low due to several practical difficulties in investigation.
In some cases, victims receive fraudulent phone calls asking them to download an app or click on a link. In other cases, they are trapped into parting with their own money with false promises of high returns.
The accused are usually scattered across northern states and operate bank accounts created with fake identity documents, hampering the investigation team's efforts to track them.
Recently, cyber police have started taking steps to freeze the accounts of fraudsters as soon as crimes are reported, and steps are also taken to recover lost money.
Cyber โโpolice classify online frauds into various sections: Banking fraud, Instant loan app fraud, Sextortion, E-commerce platform fraud, Job fraud, Hacking, Identity theft, Crypto scam, etc.
When it comes to cybercrimes, not even the police are spared. Recently, fraudsters swindled Rs 25,000 from the bank account of Thiruvananthapuram city โโpolice.
The account officer of the police station, who received a fake message to update KYC details, was tricked into giving account access to the fraudsters. Within minutes, Rs 25,000 was stolen from the police account at the Jagathy branch of the SBI.
Although these types of scams occur on a large scale, many go unreported due to lack of awareness and reluctance of victims to go to court.
In a major financial fraud case, unidentified men siphoned Rs 2.25 crore from the account of a 72-year-old man in Thiruvananthapuram, threatening to trap him in a drug case in November last year.
The victim was contacted by a person posing as a courier employee, who claimed that a package had been sent from his address to Taiwan. The man also informed the old man that the mail contained 50 grams of MDMA and five fake passports and that the Mumbai Police had detained the courier.
Hours later, the victim was contacted by another person who introduced himself as the sub-inspector of the Mumbai cyber crime wing. The 'officer' informed him that the IWC had registered a case against him and shared a copy of the FIR with him. Finally, the man was tricked and psychologically manipulated by the criminals into transferring Rs 2.25 million to them.
This is not just an isolated incident, as more and more people are being targeted by scammers who have uncontrolled access to a growing group of victims.
Recently, another person in the state capital was tricked into giving away Rs 56 lakh to fraudsters posing as CBI agents.
An increasing number of young job aspirants are also among those who are victims of cyber fraud. A healthcare professional from Kochi recently lost Rs 2 lakh in an online job scam.
In a similar case, a young woman who was offered a chance to earn money sitting at home writing reviews for various companies was allegedly cheated of Rs 13 lakh, according to the police.
Another common scam is "advance payment fraud," crimes in which victims are tricked into giving away money after a communication.
Cryptocurrency frauds are also increasing in the state. A man from Kozhikode lost Rs 90 lakh a few months ago in a cryptocurrency fraud.
In what could be the country's first deep scam, another Kozhikode A resident lost Rs 40,000 after cybercriminals used fake artificial intelligence technology and posed as a former colleague on a WhatsApp video call who urgently needed funds from the hospital.
Cyber โโcrime experts and police officers said it is important for the public to be cautious about cyber crimes. โPeople should be very alert when conducting financial transactions online.
They should not share OTP or install remote access applications. People who are scammed should register their complaints at the toll-free number 1930 and also at www. cybercrime.gov.in immediately,โ said PP Karunakaran, deputy commissioner of Thiruvananthapuram cybercrime police station.
According to the state's online security experts, Kerala is losing Rs 10 crore every month due to such frauds. Official data shows that cybercrimes skyrocketed in 2023 compared to previous years in the state. In five years, cybercrimes increased from 307 in 2019 to more than 3,000 in 2023.
Fraud is one of the most common crimes, and scammers use various tactics to scam people out of money. As these crimes have no geographical boundaries, police face new challenges in fighting and tracking them. The conviction rate is abysmally low due to several practical difficulties in investigation.
In some cases, victims receive fraudulent phone calls asking them to download an app or click on a link. In other cases, they are trapped into parting with their own money with false promises of high returns.
The accused are usually scattered across northern states and operate bank accounts created with fake identity documents, hampering the investigation team's efforts to track them.
Recently, cyber police have started taking steps to freeze the accounts of fraudsters as soon as crimes are reported, and steps are also taken to recover lost money.
Cyber โโpolice classify online frauds into various sections: Banking fraud, Instant loan app fraud, Sextortion, E-commerce platform fraud, Job fraud, Hacking, Identity theft, Crypto scam, etc.
When it comes to cybercrimes, not even the police are spared. Recently, fraudsters swindled Rs 25,000 from the bank account of Thiruvananthapuram city โโpolice.
The account officer of the police station, who received a fake message to update KYC details, was tricked into giving account access to the fraudsters. Within minutes, Rs 25,000 was stolen from the police account at the Jagathy branch of the SBI.
Although these types of scams occur on a large scale, many go unreported due to lack of awareness and reluctance of victims to go to court.
In a major financial fraud case, unidentified men siphoned Rs 2.25 crore from the account of a 72-year-old man in Thiruvananthapuram, threatening to trap him in a drug case in November last year.
The victim was contacted by a person posing as a courier employee, who claimed that a package had been sent from his address to Taiwan. The man also informed the old man that the mail contained 50 grams of MDMA and five fake passports and that the Mumbai Police had detained the courier.
Hours later, the victim was contacted by another person who introduced himself as the sub-inspector of the Mumbai cyber crime wing. The 'officer' informed him that the IWC had registered a case against him and shared a copy of the FIR with him. Finally, the man was tricked and psychologically manipulated by the criminals into transferring Rs 2.25 million to them.
This is not just an isolated incident, as more and more people are being targeted by scammers who have uncontrolled access to a growing group of victims.
Recently, another person in the state capital was tricked into giving away Rs 56 lakh to fraudsters posing as CBI agents.
An increasing number of young job aspirants are also among those who are victims of cyber fraud. A healthcare professional from Kochi recently lost Rs 2 lakh in an online job scam.
In a similar case, a young woman who was offered a chance to earn money sitting at home writing reviews for various companies was allegedly cheated of Rs 13 lakh, according to the police.
Another common scam is "advance payment fraud," crimes in which victims are tricked into giving away money after a communication.
Cryptocurrency frauds are also increasing in the state. A man from Kozhikode lost Rs 90 lakh a few months ago in a cryptocurrency fraud.
In what could be the country's first deep scam, another Kozhikode A resident lost Rs 40,000 after cybercriminals used fake artificial intelligence technology and posed as a former colleague on a WhatsApp video call who urgently needed funds from the hospital.
Cyber โโcrime experts and police officers said it is important for the public to be cautious about cyber crimes. โPeople should be very alert when conducting financial transactions online.
They should not share OTP or install remote access applications. People who are scammed should register their complaints at the toll-free number 1930 and also at www. cybercrime.gov.in immediately,โ said PP Karunakaran, deputy commissioner of Thiruvananthapuram cybercrime police station.
