Beware of cybercrimes! Online fraud and sexual exploitation prevalent in Assam

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Beware of cybercriminals! Or else you may end up losing your hard-earned cash or being honey-trapped.

Online fraud and sexual exploitation are the two major forms of cybercrimes prevalent in Assam. The police keep cautioning the people of the State to adhere to responsible behaviour in social media like safe browsing, remaining alert from unverified link or website and using a strong password. The cybercriminals are on the prowl to elicit information regarding people's bank details etc. Once leaked, they take no time to empty one's bank accounts.

Of late, prank phone calls or friend requests keep coming from girls who, once responded to positively, keep their 'preys' busy in chatting. They try to elicit others' information regarding their bank details.

Sometimes when a person receives video calls from such people a screenshot of nude or obscene pictures are immediately clicked in the handset of the caller as and when the person on the other end receives the call. This is one of their ways to trap a man with a fat bank balance. Once honey-trapped, they keep blackmailing the man with the obscene pictures and bleed him dry.

According to police sources, in 2020 as many as 933 cybercrime cases under the IT (Information & Technology) Act were registered in Guwahati against 577 such cases in 2019.

According to the NCRB (National Crime Record Bureau), 2,231 cybercrime cases were registered in Assam under the IT Act in 2019. The cybercrime data for the year 2020 are yet to be released by the NCRB.

Also Read: Coronavirus Pandemic: Cybercrimes spike during lockdown in Assam