Cyber crime cases come in the latest series of criminal offences in India which is accelerating day after day all over India. With the advancement of technology, cyber thugs are escaping from any punishment as they are using such methods which are not being intercepted either by the police or by the investigating agencies.
According to reports, the cyber crime business in India amounted to $450 billion in 2016. In another disclosure by a world-renowned magazine, the cost of cyber crimes crossed the $2 trillion mark in 2019. Medical documents are being targeted mostly by cyber thieves in India.
Among them come mostly those young professionals who are much more advanced technology-wise. It is worrisome to note that despite the fact that in order to check such impractical practices under the Information Technology Act of the Government of India there is already an act called IT Act-2000, or the IT Act and which was notified on October 17, 2002, by an Act of Parliament.
As per reports of the year 2020, more than 18.4 thousand people were arrested for their involvement in various kinds of cyber crimes. Each day, cybercriminals are adopting novel methods to commit such crimes in our country.
Which kinds of crimes come under the purview of cyber crime
Doing such things as defacing Government websites, being involved in online financial frauds, online stalking/harassment, and stealing someone’s domain / Data theft is considered a major cyber crime.
What is the penal provision under the cybercrime act?
Under the cybercrime act, if a person is caught being involved in cyber crimes, he can get a jail term of up to three years and he will have to deposit up to Rs 2 lakh fine under Section 66F under the cyber terrorism act. However, a person against whom such an act has been committed can file an FIR through online media. However, it will be mandatory for every police officer under Section 154, Code of Criminal Procedure to get an FIR registered under whose area the crime had taken place and record his information.
Cyber crime is a bailable offence or not
Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property (section 420), forgery for cheating (section 468), dishonestly receiving stolen property (section 411), theft (section 378), and criminal breach of trust by a public servant (section 409) are bailable offence. Cyber crimes also come under the bailable offence.
Which are the novel methods being adopted by cyber thugs these days
Hacking It is one of the most commonly used kinds of cyber crimes practiced in India. Such practise is known as hacking in which a person breaks into somebody else’s computer to make access to a person’s personal and takes sensitive information such as his banking details, email accounts, etc. With everything becoming digital, the risk of hacking is also increasing in India.
Cyber Stalking After hacking, cyber-stalking is another major method to commit a cyber crime and is similar to offline stalking.
Online Theft Online theft case is another method adopted to extort money from people by accessing their personal bank accounts, credit card, debit card, other sensitive information, etc on the internet.
Cyber Bullying Cyber Bullying is a method in which the internet, mobiles, or social networks are used for harassing, defaming, intimidating a person.
Cyber Terrorism It is the latest in a series of cyber crime in which a person is threatened for extorting money or anything else.
Child soliciting and abuse It is another novel kind of cybercrime in which a child is solicited over the internet for the purpose of making child pornography.
How to register a Cyber Crime Complaint?
In order to check cases of cyber crimes, the crime investigation team is engaged in establishing many cyber crime cells in different cities of India. At present, most cities in India have a dedicated cyber crime cell where one can register his complaints anytime to the cyber police or crime investigation department either by using the offline or online method.
In order to give punishment for cybercrime, the primary step will be lodging complaints against the crime which comes from any jurisdiction. In the written complaint, one can provide his name, contact details, and address for mailing in his written complaint. Besides this, he is also required to address the written complaint to the Head of the cyber crime Cell of the city where he is lodging such a complaint.
How to report an FIR for a Cyber Crime?
In case, a person has no access to any of the cyber cells in India, he can file a First Information Report (FIR) at the local police station. In case, your complaint is not accepted there, you can approach the Commissioner or the city’s Judicial Magistrate.
Certain cyber crime offences come under the IPC in which he can register a cyber crime FIR at the nearest local police station to report them. It is mandatory under Section 154 of CrPC, for every police officer to record the information/complaint of an offence, irrespective of the jurisdiction in which the crime was committed.
How to file a Cyber Crime Complaint online?
The online portal where a victim can file a cyber crime complaint is https://cyber crime.gov.in/Accept.aspx which is an initiative of the Government of India which caters to complaints concerning online Child Pornography (CP), Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), or sexually explicit content such as Rape/Gang Rape (CP/RGR) content and other cyber crimes such as social media crimes, online financial frauds, ransomware, hacking, cryptocurrency crimes, and online cyber trafficking.
The portal also provides an option of reporting an anonymous complaint about reporting Child Pornography (CP) or sexually explicit content such as Rape/Gang Rape (RGR) content.
