Cybercrime victims reluctant to report cases, say police

Cybercrime officials say people who were duped on social media and e-commerce platforms are not taking legal help, and don't seriously until a considerable amount is siphoned off from their bank accounts.

Hyderabad: Several victims of cybercrime, which is on an upward graph, are reluctant to approach the police. Most of those who take that crucial step forward and approach the police are mostly the ones who have lost large sums of money, with several other incidents of cyber fraud going unreported.

Lack of awareness is one major factor that prevents many from reporting cases, according to police officials, who also point out that the efforts to educate people against cyber frauds are helping people from cities while victims in rural areas are still not aware or are hesitant.

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Senior cybercrime officials say people who were duped on social media and online shopping platforms mostly do not look for legal help. They do not take it seriously until a considerable amount is siphoned off from their bank accounts during frauds.

“In most cases, either due to illiteracy or lack of awareness on cyber frauds and stigma in approaching police, people do not come to us. In some instances, if the damage is little or if they think it is not easy to get back the stolen money, they avoid the police,” a senior official said, attributing the rise in cybercrime incidents to excessive use of mobile phones and gadgets by people of all ages.

“Though a provision store or a vegetable and meat market or a dairy parlour is nearby, instead of fetching what we need by going there, we are used to placing orders online. From the biggest of purchases to the smallest ones, we are depending more on online transactions. This is one of the major reasons for being vulnerable to cybercrime,” an official said.

With increasing dependency on online transactions, fraudsters too were coming up with novel ways to dupe people. Police advised citizens to avoid talking to people who call them saying they are executives of banks, software companies, vehicle loans, house loans, loan app firms, etc.

“It is better to disconnect the call if it is unwanted. And in case you fall in that trap, it is advised to approach the local cybercrime police or lodge a complaint with the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal,” the official said.

Another senior official from the cybercrime wing said fraudsters were still targeting people from rural areas with tricks including lottery fraud, Aadhar card updates, and so on. Most of the victims were elders, women, and the uneducated.