Shimla: Internet facilities, which have become an integral part of our life and made it quite convenient in several ways over a period of time, are, however, also posing new challenges for the law and order enforcement agencies, including the police.
Cybercrime is increasing with internet connectivity across India and Himachal Pradesh is no exception with the hilly state recording increased number of cases.
Cybercriminals are targeting peoples bank accounts, e-wallets, debit/credit cards to steal their hard-earned money. They find innovative ways to loot people every day and this has become a huge challenge for the state police.
Looting people through the internet has become a new way of life for them. The criminals use fake identity, sim cloning, steal data which may have your One Time Password (OTP), details of your debit/credit cards. They also keep an eye on your digital payments and try to steal your money through internet baking facilities also.
In one such case, some criminals, posing themselves as Indian Army personnel, asked a lawyer to take up their case in a court of law and sought his bank account details to transfer his fee.
They transferred a small amount to win his confidence and then said there was a "technical problem in sending the full amount" and urged him to share more details of his bank account and once he did they withdrew Rs 1,40,000 from his account.
Also Read: Woman alleges rape by police inspector in Aligarh
The victim then approached the police. Following which, a case was registered and a probe launched.
The police, after certain formalities, was able to get his money returned but they were yet to trace the criminal.
E-wallet is a gateway of payment which allows an account to be opened with a mobile phone number. Cybercriminals, by using fake documents, open up several e-wallet accounts and indulge in corrupt practices.
Police, in many cases, fail to reach them because of fake identities that may have used to create the accounts.
To stop such criminal activities, people must not share their bank details with anyone and stay alert.
In Himachal Pradesh, a cyber cell was created in 2016 and people can report any such fraud by emailing the department or informing them about the same through the phone.
