Crackdown Against Cybercrime: 83,668 WhatsApp Accounts, 7.81 Lakh SIM Cards, 3,962 Skype IDs Blocked
In a crackdown against cybercrime in India, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) has blocked over 83,668 Whatsapp accounts and 3,962 Skype IDs for digital arrest fraud.
In a crackdown against cybercrime in India, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) has blocked over 83,668 Whatsapp accounts and 3,962 Skype IDs for digital arrest fraud, according to a PIB release. Digital arrest fraud involves the fraudster impersonating law enforcement officials and typically defrauding the victim of money under the pretext of a "refundable security deposit" by intimidating them and telling them they are under investigation for some alleged crime.
This is typically done through through social media applications like Whatsapp, Skype and also phone calls.
The Centre has also blocked more than 7.81 lakhs SIM cards and 2,08,469 International Mobile Equipment Identities as reported by police authorities.
Among others, here are 10 steps government has taken to strengthen the mechanism to deal with cyber crimes including digital arrest scams:
The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) has been set up to deal with all types of cyber crimes in the country.
From newspaper advertisement, announcement in Delhi Metros, use of social media influencers, campaign through Prasar Bharti among others, the government has launched a comprehensive awareness programme specifically targetted at digital arrest scams.
The Hon'ble Prime Minister spoke about digital arrests during the episode "Mann Ki Baat" on 27.10.2024 and apprised the citizens of India.
I4C in collaboration with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has launched a caller tune campaign for raising awareness about cybercrime and promoting the Cyber Crime Helpline Number 1930 & ‘National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal’ (NCRP). The caller tune is also being broadcasts in regional languages.
The Central government has published a release on alert against incidents of ‘Blackmail’ and 'Digital Arrest' by Cyber Criminals Impersonating State/UT Police, NCB, CBI, RBI and other Law Enforcement Agencies.
The Central Government and Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) have devised a system to identify and block incoming international spoofed calls displaying Indian mobile numbers appear to be originating within India.
The ‘National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal’ (https://cybercrime.gov.in) has been launched to enable the public to report incidents pertaining to all types of cyber crimes.
The ‘Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System’, under I4C was launched for immediate reporting of financial frauds and to stop siphoning off funds by the fraudsters. So far, over Rs. 4,386 crore has been saved involving more than 13.36 lakh complaints.
A toll-free Helpline number ‘1930’ has been operationalized to get assistance in lodging online cyber complaints.
The Central Government has taken steps to disseminate messages through SMS, I4C social media account i.e. X (@CyberDost), Facebook (CyberDostI4C), Instagram (cyberDostI4C), Telegram (cyberdosti4c) and more.
