How Do I Write A Complaint Letter To The Cyber Cell ?

An increase in the digitalisation of the payments and the usage of Internet, have helped make the financial transactions easier and more transparent. But, such increased usage of technology has also caused an increase in the vulnerability to the cybercrime. Making matters worse, the victims of such  cybercrime, in most cases struggle to find the proper way  to resolve such issues due to lack of knowledge.

This present article intends help solve this confusion by increasing an awareness about the cybercrimes and elaborating as to how to get justice if you become a victim of one.

Cybercrime

Cybercrime is the kind of criminal activity which targets or uses a computer, mobile phone, an entire network of computer, or such device which is attached to any computer network. Generally, these kind of crimes are committed to make money, however, in some situations, these crimes may also be committed with other malicious intent.

Different Types of Cybercrimes

Various types of cybercrimes are there, including:

• Identity fraud: Stealing credentials of a person online and using them to commit fraud
• Cyber espionage: Remotely spying on someone, generally against a business or a government entity
• Cyber Extortion: Demanding money by threatening with a cyber attack
• Cyberstalking: Using the social media or websites son as to instill fear in the victim
• Clickjacking: Tricking the website users by way of having them click on a malicious link by disguising it
• Online selling of illegal items or services

Some examples of Cyber Crimes

• Phishing
• These fraud are the kind of acts where the scammers send some fake emails or messages so as to trick people into sharing their personal or financial information. Say for example, a fraudster will send an email, which shall appear to be sent from the bank of the user, the email would would include a link, clicking which  one would have to login the credentials to verify their account information, which would further take the user to a fake website which looks like the website of the  bank, however is created or controlled by the fraudster. The moment the user enters his or her login credentials, the fraudster would use them to access the  account making unauthorised transactions.
• Vishing
• The kind of fraud where fraudsters will impersonate legitimate organisations or individuals by using phone calls to obtain sensitive information from the victims, including their bank account details, credit card numbers, or passwords. Say for example, a fraudster may use numerous tactics in order to gain trust of the victim, such as posing as the representative of the bank, any government agency, or even  a tech support agent. 
• After gaining access to the personal information of the victim, vishing fraudster could use such information to steal money from the respective bank account and making unauthorised purchases. Victim at the time may not realise that he or she has been scammed, until after receiving the bank statements or credit card bills, and by that time it would be too late to recover such losses.

How Does one file Cybercrime Complaints

In case one is a victim of cybercrime, he or she can share the grievance with the Cyber Crime Portal of the Govt. of India.

Mentioned below is a step-by-step procedure for the same:

• The victim would have to dial 1930 which is a helpline number. This helpline will be  handled by a cyber police officer
• In case the crime was committed and a period of 24 hours has passed, the victim will be asked to lodge a formal complaint on-  https://cybercrime.gov.in/. In case the fraud took place within a period of last 24 hours, the operator would help fill the form after enquiring about the personal information as well as the details of the purported crime which took place.
• A ticket would be escalated to the concerned financial intermediaries (FI) such as the bank where an account was held by the victim.
• The ticket generated for the fraudulent transaction is shown on the dashboards of both the debited Fl (i.e. bank where the victim has an account) and the credited FI (the bank/wallet of the fraudulent beneficiary account)
• The bank or FI to which the ticket has been escalated, checks for the details of the fraud transaction. If the funds have already moved out of that bank/wallet, it will feed the transaction details in the portal and escalate it to the next Fl. If funds are found available there, it temporarily puts them on hold.
• The ticket continues to escalate till the funds are put on hold or they exit the digital ecosystem through channels such as an ATM, physical withdrawals, digital payments, etc.

How Can One Lodge An Online Complaint About Cybercrimes

Following steps would have to be followed in order to lodge a complaint on the site-  https://cybercrime.gov.in/

• Step 1

On homepage, there are two options which could be noticed on the home button tab, these are: 

1. ‘Report Women/Child-Related Crime’ and 
2. ‘Report Cyber Crime’.

• Step 2

In case a woman or a child are a victim of cybercrime, first button would be needed to be clicked, in any other case click on the second button. When clicking the first button, the complainant would find the options- ‘Report anonymously’ and ‘Report & Track’. 

Under the second button, an option to report either a ‘Financial Fraud’ or ‘Other Cybercrime’ could be found.

• Step 3

As next step, the complainant will have to click on– ‘File a Complaint’ and ‘I Accept button’ in order to go forward. It is important to follow through the terms and conditions mentioned including the privacy policy, before accepting them.

• Step 4

Now the complainant needs to create a user ID, registering the mobile number, after  which an OTP would be received, and the complainant would have to fill up the name and state. After having successfully logged in to the page, he or she may select the respective area (locality/city/state where the victim resides) and register the complaint. The victim would have to fill up the relevant details about the offence committed.

How Could One Track His or Her Cyber Crime Complaint

After having registered the cybercrime complaint on the website, one would receive a unique reference number. Further communication about the the investigations could be done by using the unique number so generated. You may also use it to track the status of his or her complaint.

Conclusion

Between the period of January 2021 and November 2022, some 884,963 complaints were received as financial fraud on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. Actual numbers would be way higher as there is a lack of awareness about cybercrimes caused. For further information on the subject, one may contact an experienced advocate dealing with similar matters.

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