Cyber Crime: Government takes big action against cyber fraud, scammers will not be spared

The Central Government has blocked 6 lakh mobile numbers, 65,000 URLs, and 800 apps to prevent cybercrime. The Cyber Wing has frozen 3.25 lakh fraudulent accounts, preventing a fraud of Rs 2800 crore.

Cybercrime cases are on the rise, and the government is making continuous efforts to prevent it. In a major step, the government has decided to block 6 lakh mobile phones. Apart from this, the Cyber Wing of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has blocked 65,000 URLs involved in cyber fraud. Additionally, more than 800 applications involved in cyber fraud have been blocked. The I4C wing of the Home Ministry is taking new steps to prevent the growing scams.

According to the 2023 calculations, more than 1 lakh investment scams were reported on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP). 17,000 FIRs have been registered. Between January 2024 and September 2024, 6,000 digital arrests, 20,043 trading scams, 62,687 investment scams, and 1,725 dating scams were reported.

What is the ‘I4C Wing’?

The I4C wing is a unit established to address all cybersecurity-related issues of the general public. It aims to improve coordination between various law enforcement agencies and stakeholders, enhance India’s overall capability to tackle cybercrime and improve citizen satisfaction levels. It was established on October 5, 2018, under the Central Sector Scheme of the Home Ministry’s Cyber and Information Security Division (CIS Division). This center monitors high-priority cases in coordination with the control rooms of all states.

What steps have been taken to tackle fraud?

Considering the rising cases of cybercrime across the country, the wing has established a national-level coordination center, assisting citizens in registering complaints of cybercrime. It is also helping law enforcement agencies to identify patterns and trends of cybercrime, identify fake digital platforms, and take action against them. The wing is making efforts to prevent cybercrime by issuing alerts on digital arrests.