Patralekha Chatterjee | India needs to battle to protect tech-vulnerable

India has over 800 million Internet users -- and more than half of them live in villages. It is home to the world’s second largest Internet user base, just behind China, a country with more than a billion netizens. Unsurprisingly, India's e-commerce sector has witnessed exponential growth in recent years. But the country’s digital dreams could be scuppered by the long shadow of cyber criminals.

Last month, Krishna Dasgupta, a 72-year-old resident of Chittaranjan Park, a South Delhi neighbourhood, lost Rs 83 lakhs after she was placed under “digital arrest” for over 12 hours. The story, widely reported in the media, spotlighted a tactic favoured by cyber criminals who pose as law enforcement officers. They used it to psychologically pressure the victim and make her believe that she was in the dock for money laundering. She was told she was under observation, must remain confined to her room and do exactly as she was instructed, without consulting anyone else.

What started with a phone call led to a series of intimidatory conversations that led to the elderly lady sharing details of her Aadhaar card and cleaning out her savings bank account. It was only after she spoke with her daughter and son-in-law the next day that she realised she had been preyed upon.

Eerily, just last week, I heard a similarly chilling story from a Delhi-based friend who had also been subjected to “digital custody” but luckily got timely advice which prevented monetary loss. In April this year, a 52-year-old Bengaluru businessman was tricked into downloading a fraudulent mobile application on WhatsApp by cyber criminals who promised high-return investments. He was new to stock market trading. He lost Rs 5.2 crores.

These are not isolated incidents.

Cybercrime in varied forms has been steadily rising in India, as in many other countries, in recent years. Online scams got a huge boost during the Covid-19 pandemic when people were confined to their homes. Many Indians fell prey to cyber scamsters. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), India saw a rise of 24 per cent in cybercrimes registered in 2022 compared to 2021.

In May this year, a statement by the ministry of home affairs pointed out that the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) had received many complaints regarding intimidation, blackmail, extortion and “digital arrests” by cyber criminals posing as police authorities, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Narcotics Department, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Enforcement Directorate and other law enforcement agencies.

The statement revealed that fraudsters typically call a potential victim, insist that he or she has either sent or is the intended recipient of a parcel, which contains illegal goods, drugs, fake passports, other contraband items. Sometimes, they also claim that someone close to the victim has been found to be involved in a crime or an accident and is in their custody. “A demand for money is made to compromise the ‘case’. In certain instances, unsuspecting victims are made to undergo ‘digital arrest’ and remain visually available over Skype or other video conferencing platform to the fraudsters, till their demands are met. The fraudsters are known to use studios modelled on police stations and government offices and wear uniforms to appear genuine,” the statement noted.

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the MHA, which coordinates activities related to combating cybercrime, has blocked more than 1,000 Skype IDs involved in such activities, in collaboration with Microsoft, the statement added.

The MHA asked citizens to immediately report any suspected cybercrime to helpline number 1930 or www.cybercrime.gov.in for assistance.

Recently, the cybercrime unit also advised citizens to verify the authenticity of any suspicious e-notices they may get via email by cross-checking with the concerned government official and agency.

“In a disturbing development sweeping across India, cyber fraud is indiscriminately targeting individuals, from those with limited digital know-how in rural settings to the technologically adept in urban locales,” notes a report by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) Foundation. It flags a study by a start-up incubated at IIT Kanpur which revealed a worrying trend -- from January 2020 to June 2023, financial scams have overwhelmingly dominated cybercrime in India, accounting for more than 75 per cent of incidents, with UPI and Internet banking frauds making up nearly half. “This research indicates that 77.41 per cent of cybercrimes involve online financial deceit, including debit/credit card fraud, business email compromise, and notably, UPI fraud, which constitutes 47.25 per cent of the cases.”

Clearly, cybersecurity matters enormously in a country with huge digital aspirations. As India’s economy leans heavily on IT (information technology) and ITES (information technology enabled services) such as data processing, customer support, technical support, and consulting, preventing cyberattacks is central to economic stability and growth. Cybersecurity, therefore, emerges not just as a defence mechanism but as a foundational pillar supporting India’s vision of a digital future, as Nasscom puts it.

But here is the rub. Despite the huge surge in Internet penetration across the country, including in villages, there is a glaring gap in digital literacy and security awareness. Huge numbers among the elderly, the adolescents and women are easy targets for online frauds. India’s battle to safeguard the tech-vulnerable in the country is hamstrung by a shortage of cyber security experts. India also needs much better cyber forensics facilities.

Some initiatives are under way to address the problem. The Nasscom foundation has launched Digital Resource Centres (DRCs) where “digital ambassadors” trained by technical experts can educate ordinary people about cyber-attacks and how to safeguard oneself from such attacks. Some state governments are taking the lead to create public awareness about digital safety. In Telangana, for example, students are being trained to become “cyber ambassadors” in the region.

Recent incidents, however, show that public awareness about cyber fraud is still very low. Ordinary Indians are caught in the dark shadow lurking between digital India and the cyber criminal’s India. Many more public campaigns are required to equip the citizen to protect himself/herself. It is not just about individual vulnerability. India’s critical infrastructure is also vulnerable to cyber attacks. India’s digital destiny depends on this.