880 cybercriminals held, Rs 44-crore recovered from them this year, says DGP

Fifty-one cases of cybercrime were registered by police itself. These were cases in which complainants were not coming forward, and 24 of them have already been worked out, he said.

He also said steps are being taken to strengthen the Panchkula-based cyber forensic laboratory by recruiting additional technical hands, according to a statement. The DGP added that a proposal is under consideration to set up such labs at the police range and commissionerate headquarters.

Additional DGP, Crime Branch, O P Singh, said that in 2022, extortion through instant loan apps, phishing attacks and social engineering dominated case trends. “Instant loan apps involve people looking for quick loans and subsequently, social-shaming and blackmailing them into paying many times over. Phishing attacks involve hackers sending fake emails or creating fake websites in an attempt to trick victims into revealing sensitive information such as login credentials or financial information,” Singh said.

“These attacks have become increasingly sophisticated with hackers using branding and other tactics to make their emails and websites appear legitimate,” he said.

Singh said another area of concern was use of social engineering such as pretexting (creating a fake identity or situation to gain trust), baiting (offering something desirable to lure a victim) and scareware (using fear to manipulate the victim) for influencing individuals into performing actions or divulging sensitive information.
The DGP called upon people and businesses to be vigilant against ever-mutating cybercrime and asked police personnel to fight this new class of crime with even greater vigour in the new year. Agarwal also urged victims of cybercrime to immediately report cases on helpline number ‘1930’.

Setting up cyber-desks at police stations has helped in mainstreaming cybercrime and “the initiative has been appreciated by the central government as one of the best practice in the country in gearing up police in fighting cybercrime”, he said. PTI