Police keep eye on networking sites before New Year

With the New Year just around the corner, the cyber police are busy surfing social networking sites. The reason, police said, is that New Year parties have also been occasions where an increase in usage of narcotic drugs has been observed.

With the New Year just around the corner, the cyber police are busy surfing social networking sites. The reason, police said, is that New Year parties have also been occasions where an increase in usage of narcotic drugs has been observed.

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And as police have found that rave party invites are also sent through networking sites, they plan to keep an eye out for suspicious messages.

“Party invites are now being sent online and several through networking sites. We want to browse through the invites to see if they have any suspicious messages,” said an officer from the cyber wing of the Mumbai police requesting anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media.

He said especially in case of rave parties, the information to others is passed through such sites via cryptic messages.

The year-end, police believe, is also used by cyber criminals to con people.

“Criminals use the occasion to send out invites to high-profile parties and ask people to pay a small amount in advance and then disappear,” an officer said.

He said there have also been instances where criminals send out links wishing people for the New Year.

One click on the link and hackers can take control of the computer network and snatch important details like your password and use it for unlawful purposes.

Senior inspector of Bandra Kurla complex cyber police station, N More, said, “Our men are generally keeping an eye out for cyber criminals. During certain festivals and the New Year cyber criminals tend to strike in large numbers and hence, we are especially cautious during these times.”