Statistics provided by the Mumbai Police themselves have revealed that only 11.5% cases of cyber crime were detected this year. The statistics revealed that most cyber crime cases registered this year involved bank card frauds, followed by obscene emails/messages, and creating fake social media profiles and morphing. The statistics also revealed that cyber crime cases increased by 20% this year compared to last year.
According to the police data, 2,054 cyber crime cases were registered between January and September this year, of which only 236 cases were detected. Last year, 1,700 cases of cyber crime were registered.
This year, 442 cases of card fraud were registered, of which only 30 cases were detected. Of the 180 cases of obscene email and messages, 62 cases have been detected. There were 66 cases of fake social media profiles and morphing registered, of which only nine cases have been detected.
This year, 21 cases of phishing/ hacking were registered, of which two cases were detected. Out of the six cases of tampering of source code registered, again, only one was detected. Prashant Mali, a cyber crime lawyer, said,
“Mumbaikars are often sitting ducks as far as cyber crimes are concerned. These criminals are operating out of Northern India in most cases and the chase is a costly affair. Poor interstate cyber police coordination is another reason for cases not getting detected.”
A senior police officer said that earlier there used to be just a single cyber crime police station, but now cyber crime police stations have been set up in each of the five regions in Mumbai. “This is basically to ensure officers dedicatedly pursue cyber crime cases. We have also been creating awareness about cyber crimes on social media to ensure people are more cautious and aware,” the officer said.
