HYDERABAD: The Internet Crime Report for 2019, released by USA’s Internet Crime Complaint Centre (IC3) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has revealed that India stands third in the world among top 20 countries that are victims of internet crimes. As per the report, excluding the USA, the UK tops the list with 93,796 victims of internet crimes followed by Canada (3,721) and India (2,901).
The report states that in the USA, a total of 4,67,361 complaints with losses exceeding USD 3.5 billion were reported. While email is still a common mode to commit cyber crime, frauds are also being committed through text messages or even fake websites using a tactic called pharming, says the IC3.
An FBI release on the IC3 report points out that the year 2019 did not see an increase in new kinds of frauds, but saw criminals deploying new tactics and techniques to carry out the existing scams and that they have become sophisticated in doing so.
According to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, a total of 27,248 cases of cyber crime were registered in India in 2018. In Telangana, 1,205 cyber crime cases were registered in the same year. The National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal that was started last year by the Central government received 33,152 complaints till now, resulting in lodging of 790 FIRs.
‘Personal data breach is a common crime’
“Just how your bank and online accounts require two-factor authentication, apply that to your life. Verify requests in person or by phone, double check web and e-mail addresses and don’t follow the links provided in any messages,” said Donna Gregory, the chief of IC3 regarding the report.
The most common internet crimes reported in the USA were phishing and similar ploys, personal data breach, romance fraud and spoofing, which are also the most commonly reported internet crimes by Indians.
A major cause for concern
While email is still a common mode to commit internet crime, frauds are also being committed through text messages, a crime called smishing, or even fake websites using a tactic called pharming