Lucknow: There have been 3 lakh cyber crime cases reported in Uttar Pradesh in the last three years, said Prof Triveni Singh, IPS and superintendent of police, cyber crime cell, Lucknow, on Wednesday.
Singh was speaking as the keynote speaker in a webinar organised by the Lucknow Management Association.
“According to 2019 data, cyber crime in India has increased by 63%, with Uttar Pradesh ranking second only to Karnataka in terms of cyber frauds. A majority of these cases are carried out via social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp, with the elderly being the most vulnerable, though youth are also becoming prey,” he said.
“Criminals are fooling youngsters by promising them jobs and bank loans whereas the elderly are being defrauded by asking them to pay bills through a link. A large number of cases are being reported in UP on how people are being cheated by scanning a QR code on OLX (an online buy-and-sell site) when they post an advertisement for sale on it,” said Singh.
Sextortion is another way people are being forced to pay, in which the perpetrator poses as a girl on social media, he said. After befriending vulnerable people (generally men), they ask the men to make a video call and record it, which they then use to morph and create an inappropriate video, and then threaten to post them on social media if the men don’t pay up.
{{/usCountry}}Sextortion is another way people are being forced to pay, in which the perpetrator poses as a girl on social media, he said. After befriending vulnerable people (generally men), they ask the men to make a video call and record it, which they then use to morph and create an inappropriate video, and then threaten to post them on social media if the men don’t pay up.
{{/usCountry}}Singh suggested that people should have zero trust on social media. He asked people to never install third party applications such as Anydesk or Team Viewer if a caller asks you to install them. He also advised people to stop looking up service centre phone numbers online and instead consult the product’s original packaging for assistance.