Financial frauds accounted for over 75 per cent of cyber crimes within the nation from January 2020 until June 2023, with almost 50 per cent circumstances associated to UPI and web banking, in keeping with a brand new examine by an IIT Kanpur-incubated start-up.

Social media-related crimes corresponding to dishonest by impersonation, cyber-bullying, sexting and electronic mail phishing accounted for 12 per cent of the web offences in the course of the interval, the examine confirmed.

The findings have been talked about by the Future Crime Research Foundation (FCRF), a non-profit start-up incubated on the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kanpur, in its newest complete whitepaper ‘A Deep Dive into Cybercrime Trends Impacting India’.

For on-line monetary frauds, which accounted for the utmost 77.41 per cent offences in the course of the interval, the FCRF famous that “this category is a dominant concern, covering fraudulent activities related to online financial transactions”.

“Subcategories include debit/credit card fraud, business email compromise, internet banking-related fraud, and the alarmingly prevalent UPI (Unified Payments Interface) fraud (47.25 per cent)”, it mentioned.

These figures underscore the necessity for strong cyber safety measures to safeguard monetary transactions performed on-line, the FCRF mentioned.

Social media-related crimes accounted for 12.02 per cent on-line offences, in keeping with the whitepaper.

“This category encompasses a wide range of crimes associated with online platforms and social media. Subcategories within this domain include cheating by impersonation, cyber-bullying, sexting, email phishing, and more. While cyber-bullying and impersonation accounted for significant percentages, email phishing and provocative speech for unlawful acts had a comparatively lower impact,” it famous.

The FCRF said that “other notable categories” contributed to 9 per cent of the web crimes which delve into a number of different cybercrime classes with smaller however notable percentages, together with on-line cyber-trafficking, on-line playing, ransomware, cryptocurrency crime, and cyber terrorism.

Highlighting the varied strategies cybercriminals use to focus on digital infrastructure, the whitepaper additionally flagged that 1.57 per cent on-line crimes pertained to hacking or injury to pc programs corresponding to unauthorised entry, information breach, electronic mail hacking and web site defacement or hacking.

“It is crucial for law enforcement agencies, individuals, businesses, and policymakers to understand the changing landscape of cybercrimes in India. This report not only highlights the distribution of cybercrimes but also underscores the need for collaborative efforts to combat these threats,” FCRF co-founder Harshvardhan Singh mentioned.

Singh added that “as technology continues to advance, so do the tactics of cybercriminals, making it essential for all stakeholders to stay informed and vigilant”.