Chandigarh Police turn to Ramlila for cyber crime awareness

In a first, cyber volunteers, along with cyber cops, paid surprise visits at Ramlila venues in Sectors 17, 46, 27, 29 and Ram Darbar to alert people in Chandigarh

The cyber cell of Chandigarh Police made citizens aware of various cyber crimes using Ramlila platforms on Monday and Tuesday.

Visiting various Ramlila venues, Chandigarh Police teams asked artistes playing different characters to hold up awareness placards to caution gathered crowds against cyber frauds. (HT Photo)

In a first, cyber volunteers, along with cyber cops, paid surprise visits at Ramlila venues in Sectors 17, 46, 27, 29 and Ram Darbar to caution people against online frauds.

While the crowd was engrossed in watching the Ramlila performances, teams of cyber volunteers entered the venues holding multiple placards, apprising people of the cyber crime helpline number 1930 in case of any online fraud.

The cops, holding posters, appealed to the people to think twice before sharing their personal information, be cautious of fake customer care numbers on Google, never scan QR codes to receive money, never share OTP, beware of KYC update-related calls and SMSes, and video calls from unknown numbers.

The police team asked the artistes playing prominent characters in Ramlila to hold up the placards and urged the public gathered to remain vigilant about cyber fraudsters.

“We wanted to reach out to a large number of people and we knew that Ramlila venues would get a huge footfall, and thus we, along with our volunteers, reached there and interacted with the public,”said Ranjit Singh, station house officer (SHO), Cyber police station, Sector 17.