Rising Cybercrimes A Threat To Assam!

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Is your hard-earned cash safe in banks and other financial institutions? Assam continues to be in the grip of cybercriminals who target mainly individuals, banks and other financial institutions, including private ones. What’s worrisome is that the situation is aggravating every successive year.

Statistics given by the State CID on this front depicts the enormity of the menace. According to sources, the State had 696 cybercrime-related cases in 2016, and the number almost doubled to 1,267 in 2017. The number of such cases kept rising, and it was 1,517 in 2018. Cybercrime-related cases in just six months till June in 2019 are 1,106. At any rate, the rise in the number of such crimes in the State is quite alarming.

The enormity of the problem can be gauged from the fact that the NCRB (National Crime Record Bureau) ranked Assam seventh on cybercrime-related cases in the country in 2016. That year, Assam had 696 such cases. The NCRB reports for 2017 and its successive years are still awaited. Obviously, the sharp rise in such crimes in the State might have pushed upwards the NCRB ranking of Assam. Insofar as cybercrimes are concerned, the State CID considers Assam at the top of the list among the north-eastern States.

According to the CID, the prime reason behind such a sharp rise in cybercrimes in Assam is that the State – particularly Guwahati — is the hub of many sectors like medical, education, finance, industry etc in the region. Hackers, according to CID sources, continue to evolve newer tactics with the advent of newer technologies. Unlike foreign countries where institutions are the main targets, in Assam individuals are targeted more than institutions, CID sources said.

The rising cases of ATM forgery is a serious threat to State’s many gullible ATM users who end up handing over their ATM cards to cybercriminals while taking their help for withdrawing cash. Making online payment is also not free from the risk factor of hackers emptying deposits in accounts.

So as to make people keep pace with cybercriminals, the CID, on its part, carries out awareness drives in schools and colleges in the State. Some of the precautionary measures which CID personnel ask people to adhere to in such awareness drives are – all passwords of ATMs, email, computer, etc should be made complicated with the use of alphabets and numerals; never disclosing details of account, personal data etc to others through internet and social media; never sharing any credit/debit card, PAN Card, Aadhaar Card details with untrustworthy websites; avoiding the use of free-of-cost public Wi-Fi; not touching unknown mails and SMS; not to be carried away by unknown calls etc. The CID also appeals to the parents to keep an eye on what their wards are watching in their mobiles, laptops, computers and the like. After this August 15, such awareness drives will be more meaningful as bank officials will also be resource persons to make people aware of financial forgery.

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