Women soft target in most cyber crime cases

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, August 13

Women have been targeted in over 50 per cent cases of cyber crime in Himachal in the past five years and most of the victims have been harassed on social-networking sites like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Twitter.

The maximum number of cases reported by women is related to creation of fake profile and IDs, virtual stalking, transmitting sexually explicit material, blackmailing by morphing photographs, fake chatting and calling on whatsApp, besides financial frauds, said Additional SP, Cyber Crime, Narvir Singh Rathore.

Chatting and befriending women, winning their confidence, getting intimate with them and blackmailing is the modus operandi of miscreants. No organised gang is working in this area and most of the cases pertain to individuals only, he toldThe Tribune.

Women reported 25 of the 49 cyber crime cases (51 per cent) in 2015, 24 of the 25 cases (96 per cent) in 2016, 34 of the 59 (57.6 per cent) in 2017, 54 of the 65 (83 per cent) in 2018, 54 of the 73 (74 per cent) in 2019 and 22 of the 43 cases (51 per cent) registered in the first seven months this year as per the data of the Police Department. Most of the cases were registered in Kangra followed by Shimla and Solan.

DGP Sanjay Kundu said, “Crime against women is a multi-dimentional problem. The police and legal response is a deterrent but the involvement of other departments is significant to root out the problem. We have written to the IT Department to create awareness in this regard.”

About 80 per cent population is using Android phones which implies that they have access to internet 24×7 and the police have cautioned the residents, especially the women, to be vigilant and do not respond to unknown persons.

The number of cases registered for cyber crime against women as per lakh population is 0.9 which is more than the national average of 0.2. Himachal ranks first in cyber crime (Publishing/transmitting of sexually explicit material) jointly with Orissa, second in cyber crime against women along with Orissa again and third in cyber crime (Blackmailing/ defamation/morphing/fake profile) jointly with Orissa and Meghalaya as per the crime rate ranking of states by the National CrimeRecord Bureau (2018).

BOX –

Cyber crime cases

Year – total number – cases against women

2105 – 49 —– 25

2016 – 25 —– 24

2017 – 59 —– 34

2018 – 65 —– 54

2019 – 73 —– 54

2020 – 43 —– 22