The digital era is proving to be a jeopardy full of cybercrimes. Cybercrime is a critical issue being faced by individuals, businesses, and governments. With the evolution of technology and the emergence of AI, cybercriminals have evolved their tactics, underscoring the need for constant awareness and vigilance.
According to official data from the Mumbai police, 1,909 incidences of cyber fraud were registered in Mumbai between January and May of this year. Only 200 of them have been successfully discovered, leading to the arrest of 295 people. The Mumbai police claim that there are numerous significant forms of cyber fraud.
From January 2022 to May 2023, just 0.8% of the 1,95,409 complaints submitted by Maharashtra on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal were dealt with with a FIR. Of the 20,99,618 complaints that were received via the portal from all states and UTs throughout the time period, only 2% (42,868) were turned into formal police reports.
Fake calls on behalf of banks have become the ancient way of looting people in the world of cybercrime. However, making use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the latest weapon.
The first instance of an AI Scam was reported from Kerala. The accused employed AI to deceive the victim, Radhakrishnan and posed as a friend during a WhatsApp video call. The hoaxer presented himself as a former colleague of Radhakrishnan from Andhra Pradesh. He even mentioned names of people known to Radhakrishnan on call and created a false sense of familiarity. The scammer claimed that he is in Dubai and required Rs 40,000 for his relative's treatment. The Cyber Operations Wing managed to retrieve Rs 40,000 that was extorted from a complainant. Radhakrishnan, however, became suspicious when the criminal in question tried to demand an additional Rs 35,000 from him. He contacted his pal personally and that is how he got learned about the hoax.
AI is not the only new tool, seeking access to online data of restaurants & hospitals is too new one in the market. Recently a doctor from Mumbai ordered 25 Samosa from Guru Kripa restaurant by dialing the number available online and lost Rs 1.4 lakh.
In a similar incident, a woman residing in Central Mumbai was looking out for a Chembur-based hospital’s number online to book an appointment, but instead, she got robbed and lost Rs 1.5 lakh. The number she dialed was of a cyber fraudster.
They are also taking advantage of unemployment issues in the metropolis. Wondering how that works? In a recent case, a Financial Advisor from Mumbai lost Rs 9.35 lakh just by clicking on a job post link on Telegram. The victim got a message from a woman saying that she was an HR from an international company, she lured him that he could earn Rs 150 initially if he clicked on a link and gave ratings to three hotels. When the victim clicked the link and specified his name in the message, a Telegram app page where he was prompted to enter his UPI ID. The assignment was finished, and Rs 150 was deposited into his account. He was subsequently invited to write reviews for more hotels, for which he was paid Rs 900.
The following day, he was given the assignment to practically double the cash he had invested; for Rs 2000, he received Rs 2800 back into his account in a matter of hours.
The next day, he received three further tasks and was instructed to complete them by investing Rs. 5000, 32000, and 45000 while being promised rewards of Rs 7000, 45000, and 98000. He fulfilled these chores and made the aforementioned investments in faith, yet he never received any money.
He was instructed to invest Rs. 2 lakh in order to recover the money he had previously invested; but by continuing to do so, he ultimately lost Rs. 9.37 lakh. When he realised he was mugged he registered a complaint at the Dahisar police station.
This information emphasises the wide disparity between reported cases and detection rates, highlighting the necessity for additional advancements in the detection and advertence of such crimes.
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