Cybercrime up 4 times in Punjab in a year

Tribune News Service

Sanjeev Singh Bariana

Chandigarh, August 3

Indicating increasing criminalisation of daily lives with Information Technology, cases of cyber fraud have increased four times in Punjab during the past year. From just 24 in 2020-21, the number has gone up to 98 in 2021-22.

The data on complaints registered on the national helpline has been provided as part of the reply by Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw to a query by Members of Parliament Sanjay Haribhau, Arvind Ganpat Sawant and Kalaben Mohanbhai Delkar during Question Hour in the Lok Sabha today.

Haryana saw a five-time increase in cases of cybercrime with the number up from 33 in 2020-21 to 150 in 2021-22. The number of cases in Himachal Pradesh and J&K, separately, increased from 10 in 2020-21 to 35 in 2021-22. The highest number of cases this year was 733, recorded in Uttar Pradesh.

IG (Cybercrime) RK Jaswal said, “Criminal activity using a computer network to generate financial profits, hack data or harm computers is covered under cybercrime. There are increasing cases of spreading wrong information or distorted images to alter the truth. The activity also involves infecting computers with virus to spread to interlinked computers.”

“The increase in number of cases on police record shows that people are getting more aware about cyber fraud. Earlier, they became hapless victims to passing on personal details to wrong information flashed on their computers. We are now also getting messages from the service providers asking us to be careful about passing on our personal information without verifying the seeker. Public awareness has definitely increased,” Jaiswal said.

The Punjab Police have a toll-free helpline number 1930 for cyber complaints. The police portal cybercrime.punjabpolice.gov.in provides the links for related fields including the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal, Cybercrime Prevention Against Women and Children and Cyber Dost.

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