New Delhi: Department of telecommunications (DoT), ministry of home affairs (MHA) and state police have teamed up to curb misuse of telecom resources in cyber-crime and financial frauds. This collaborative effort aims to dismantle networks of fraudsters and protect citizens from digital threats.
Analysis carried out by MHA and state police have revealed that 28,200 mobile handsets were misused in cybercrimes. The DoT further analyzed and found that a staggering 20 lakh numbers were used with these mobile handsets. Subsequently, DoT issued directions to telecom service providers for pan India blocking of 28,200 mobile handsets and to carry out immediate reverification of 20 lakh mobile connections linked to these mobile handsets and disconnect failing re-verification.
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The unified approach demonstrates a shared commitment towards public safety and to safeguard the integrity of telecommunications infrastructure and ensure a secure digital environment.
The incidences of cyber crime is going up by the day in the country. India saw 24% rise in cybercrimes registered in 2022 compared to 2021, whereas other categories of crime – including economic offences (11%), crimes against senior citizens (9%), against women (4%) – too recorded an increase, as per the latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) last year.
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According to NCRB data in 2023, people have lost ₹66.66 crore due to cyber frauds. Over 4,850 cases were reported. A recent report by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) revealed that digital financial frauds accounted for a staggering ₹1.25 lakh crore over the last three years.
The Parliamentary standing committee on finance in its report on “cyber security and rising incidents of cyber/white collar crimes” mentioned that the domestic fraud as reported by the SE (Supervising Entities) in FY’23 was ₹2537.35 crore. According to the report, the number of complaints received in 2023 alone was 6.94 lakh.
