Cyber ​​crimes on the rise in Navi Mumbai as fraudsters find multiple ways to dupe people | Mumbai News

The rise in cybercrime you have alarmed one and all, as the cyber crooks find innovative ways to fleece money by targeting gullible citizens from simple tricks like sending a ‘link’ to a victim’s mobile to hack into their e-wallets, to intricate plots used to lure and snare people, especially those who are interested in investing in share market trading.
Last week, top cop, DGP Rashmi Shukla visited Navi Mumbai to publicly inaugurate a 24×7 Helpline number and a WhatsApp channel, a pilot project in Maharashtra launched by Navi Mumbai police. The WhatsApp channel has started to warn the public about cyber crimes and preventive measures to be taken to not fall prey to the different modus operandi of cyber crooks.
Police commissioner Milind Bharambe said, “Cybercrime by share market trading scam has increased manifold. People need to be aware while investing in online share markets wherein they receive offers of high returns from unknown callers who initially give them returns to gain their trust. As the victim invests a huge amount, they end up being duplicated by the cyber crooks.”
As per the cyber crime statistics of Navi Mumbai Police Commissionerate, in the year 2023, a total of 7,138 cases of financial fraud were registered on NCCRP (National Cyber ​​Crime Reporting Portal) in which the complainants were duped of a total of Rs 67.55 crore. While 367 cases of financial fraud were registered at different police stations in Navi Mumbai, the complainants were duped of a total of Rs 45.93 crore.
Whereas, in 2024 up to July, a total of 8,010 cases of financial fraud by cyber criminals have been registered on NCCRP in which the complainants have been collectively duped of Rs 168.07 crores. A total of 249 cases of financial fraud were registered at various police stations in which the complainants were duped of collectively Rs 80.47 crore.
Commonly executed cyber crimes:
1) Cybercrooks offer online part-time jobs doing multiple tasks like giving reviews to hotels and business establishments. They offer money for completing the tasks. Then obtain personal information and bank account details of the target and dupe them
2) Sending a web link which when opened the crook gets remote access to the target’s mobile and using his/her bank account details and OTP received on the mobile, transfers money from the target’s account.
3) Luring people by offering high returns on investment in share market trading and making the target transfer money to different bank accounts and then renege from the offer of high returns.
4) Sextortion: A woman cyber crook makes a video call to a man and befriending him she indulges in a sexual act by stripping herself. As the man is also made to become nude, she records the video call and then blackmails him by threatening to share the video with his family and friends
5) Honey trap: A cyber crook posing as a woman sends WhatsApp messages to a man and befriends him. Thereafter, she obtains her personal and confidential information with bank account details and dupes.
6) Cyber ​​crooks posing as crime branch or ED officers contact their target by claiming that his/her bank account has been used for money laundering and to prevent legal action compels their target to transfer a huge amount to a bank account.
7) Cyber ​​crook befriends a woman on Facebook and later claims that he has sent gifts to her from abroad. Thereafter, the cyber crook’s gang member posing as a customs department officer at an international airport contacts the woman and claims that a parcel has arrived from abroad in her name and contains gifts along with foreign currency. Hence, to release the parcel, she is made to transfer customs duty and foreign currency exchange charges to a bank account and duplicate
8) E-challan fraud: The cyber crooks send fake E-challan links from the traffic department to the motorists and when it is clicked to pay the challan online, the motorists receive multiple OTPs and a huge amount gets debited from his/her bank account.