Hyderabad: The cybercrime rate has increased in Telangana for the third consecutive year, according to G. Sridhar, ACP, Cybercrime, Cyberabad. He said many such cases were reported from Cyberabad, it being a hub of software companies. “Majority of offenders belong to Rajasthan, who are mostly tenth failed and dupe people in Telangana as most of the people speak Hindi,” he said.
These cyber criminals cheated the victims through customer care calls, OLX, app downloads and online investment, said Sridhar.
"Offenders make calls to victims by saying that they are calling from a customer care service from a company and cheat them. OLX is another popular medium through which fake calls are made and money is withdrawn. A large amount of money is withdrawn from the victims’ bank accounts in the transaction process and before they know it, their numbers are blocked and the offender gets out of reach. Several application links from various fake companies are sent where the person is asked to update their pan card number or bank account number or send 1 rupee and get more money in return. In this process, the screen of the victim is shared without his/her knowledge and a huge amount of money is withdrawn from their bank accounts. Offenders also try to dupe as many people as they can through several online investment companies. They provide schemes such as getting Rs 600 in return by investing Rs 400, and the victim keeps depositing money. It shows in their account that the money is doubled but at the end they are unable to withdraw even a single penny," said Sridhar.
Around 10 cybercrime cases were registered everyday and even though they caught the culprits who belonged to Rajasthan, the possibility of getting the money back was zero, he said. "It is better to take forward online transactions only with known people and it's better to meet the person personally and later take the deals forward," said the ACP. Lottery scams and rental frauds are also taking place in the city, and it was better to be aware and be cautious, he added.
“Childhood trauma, bad parenting, exposure to drugs and influence of movies can be reasons for people indulging in cybercrime. Lack of empathy, antisocial values, lack of self control and narcissistic traits which make them believe that they are smarter to indulge in crimes rather than wrong in doing it," added Virinchi Sharma, a consultant psychiatrist.
