Top 5 Cybercrime Threats in India and How to Protect Yourself

Cybercrime is a growing concern across India, with criminals exploiting technology to target individuals and businesses. These five categories account for the overwhelming majority of the complaints this office sees.

1. UPI and payment fraud

The commonest of all. A caller poses as bank staff, a delivery agent or a buyer on a marketplace, and gets you to approve a collect request or share an OTP. Remember the rule that defeats nearly all of it: you never need to approve anything, scan anything or enter a PIN to receive money. Entering a PIN always sends money out.

2. Investment and trading app scams

A group on WhatsApp or Telegram, an app that shows steadily growing returns, and a withdrawal that never processes without one more "tax" or "fee". Check that the platform is registered with SEBI, be suspicious of guaranteed returns, and treat the inability to withdraw a small amount as the end of the matter rather than a problem to solve by paying more.

3. Digital arrest and impersonation of officials

A caller claiming to be from the police, CBI, customs or the ED tells you a parcel in your name contained contraband, keeps you on video for hours, and demands a transfer to a "verification account". No agency in India arrests anyone over a video call, and none asks for money to clear an investigation. Disconnect and call 1930.

4. Sextortion

A video call from a stranger, a recording, and then demands for money that never stop once paid. Do not pay, do not negotiate, and do not delete the evidence. Report on cybercrime.gov.in and to the cyber cell. The provisions under Sections 66E and 67 of the IT Act, read with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, apply, and complaints are acted on.

5. Phishing, account takeover and data theft

Fake bank or delivery links, cloned websites, and malicious "support" apps that give a stranger remote control of your phone. Never install a screen-sharing app at the request of a caller. Turn on two-factor authentication everywhere, and treat any link that arrives with urgency attached as hostile.

If it has already happened

1. Call 1930 immediately.
2. File at cybercrime.gov.in and keep the acknowledgement number.
3. Write to your bank the same day, within three working days at the outside.
4. Preserve the messages and the device; do not reset the phone.

Then see cyber crime, or call the chamber. In these matters the first few hours are worth more than the following few months.