TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2024
VIBHA VERMA
Stuck in red-tape for nearly three years, completion of the state of the art Cyber Forensic Lab cum Training Centre will finally see the light of day. The lab, expected to be commissioned in an around a month's time, will largely help investigation using leading edge technology to detect cyber frauds.
The State, in the recent past, has witnessed a steady upward movement of cyber crime incidents. Online financial scams and social media cyber attacks have been a big headache for the police.
While complex criminal networks and international jurisdictional boundaries are preventing criminals from being prosecuted, the long awaited cyber lab is likely to assist the investigators to overcome the cumbersome obstacles. The lab will also ensure there are no restrictions in registering of cyber offences.
Cyber Crime Cell of Goa Police registers offence where the extent of loss is Rs 5 lakh or more. So will the state of the art cyber lab allow the police to also register financial fraud of a lesser amount?
“Cybercrime is a priority for Goa Police irrespective of the amount. The limit of Rs 5 lakh is only for cases of cyber fraud and cheating to be taken up for investigation by Cyber Crime Cell. Cases of amounts lesser than Rs 5 lakh are investigated at the local police stations,” Superintendent of Police Shobhit Saxena said.
He maintained that the upcoming cyber lab at Cyber Crime Cell is equipped with advanced investigative tools that will help investigation of cybercrime as well as all offences of technical nature.
Online banking frauds continue unabated as details of a customer is leaked to the alleged fraudster. Several cases of Know Your Customer (KYC) deceit have been reported with several banks admitting that the fraud has proliferated across the country.
A bank user narrated his experience of almost losing his hard armed money to the fraud. "I got a message that my VI KYC was expiring and to call a certain number for activation. When I did that I was asked to download an app for verification and on that app to make Rs 10 payment. The moment I did that I got another message from (private bank) with an OTP for Rs 49,999 transaction. It was then I realised and cut the call. Had to block card and accounts," he said. The bank user was fortunate to save his hard earned money however not many are lucky to save themselves from cunning and criminal minded fraudsters. The suspense over leaking of customer details to the alleged fraudsters has however not been cracked so far.
“Cybercrime is an ever evolving area. Cyber criminals are known to adopt new modus operandi on a very regular basis. Phishing is one of the most basic types of cybercrimes that we notice in which a criminal will contact the victim and try to extract sensitive personal information from him in one way or another. Therefore, we advice the public to never give out any sensitive personal information online, especially bank related and to always verify with their local branch,” SP Saxena said.
“Goa Police has taken up cyber crime very seriously off late. Regular training lectures are being organised. Despite pandemic we have detected a large number of cases. Shortly the first cyber lab with highly advanced investigative tools is also ready and will be functional very soon. Officers with interest and aptitude are being assigned to cases of cybercrime. We are also spreading awareness through regular advisories.”
While not a single conviction is recorded since the inception of the Cyber Crime Cell in Goa, many cases are undetected owing to lack of evidence while several are pending investigation and trial.
The SP said that investigators are charge sheeting cases on a regular basis while a majority of these cases are at various stages of trial. “The trials are closely followed by the IOs and we are hoping to see convictions going forward,” he added.
Nevertheless, quite a few positive changes have been witnessed lately as the department has enhanced the total staff strength leading to increasing registration of FIRs and filing of charge sheet.
In last five years from 2016-2021 till date, a total of 105 cases were registered of which mere 35 are so far charge sheeted. Two cases led to acquittal while 32 are pending trial.
The 2019 year saw a mere nine cases of which seven are yet to be charge sheeted owing to several factors such as tracking down of culprits and gathering of evidence. The last calendar year recorded 24 FIRs of which 13 are detected, five undetected and six are pending investigation. The current year has till date recorded six cases of various types of cyber crime.
“Most common crimes are cheating by phishing, fake profiles and transmitting obscene material, lottery scams and cheating. Cheating cases mostly involve criminals from other States while in obscene content cases, it is mainly a result of a relationship gone sour or out of revenge,” SP Saxena said.
This reminds of the much talked about ‘hacking’ of Deputy Chief Minister Chandrakant Kavlekar's phone.
Mid last year, Kavlekar lodged a complaint with Cyber Crime Cell alleging his phone was hacked to send obscene video posted on a WhatsApp group named 'Villages of Goa'. He is a member of the group but he claimed that he was asleep when unidentified persons hacked his phone. The investigation team is in the final stages of investigation and a charge sheet is expected shortly.
