Cyber crime on the rise in state Hyderabad

Cyber crime on the rise in state Hyderabad 

There is a spurt in cyber crime cases in the state.Till date,34 cases have been registered,including 29 by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) and the remaining by CCS of Hyderabad.

Cyber crime investigators are crying foul that the irregularities in the banking sector and longdrawn bureaucratic procedures to get Letters Rogatory for foreign offenders might become obstacles in solving cyber crime cases.

As the cyber crime graph shoots up in the city,government realised its importance and set up special Cyber Crime police stations.However,the investigators are facing problems from banks and other government departments,resulting in piling up of cases.

According to investigating officials,of the 34 cases registered,seven complaints related to economic frauds relate to the banking sector (phishing or credit card fraud) where the aggrieved party (complainant ) turned non-cooperative before the case reached court.

After a phishing or credit card fraud case gets registered and the investigator approaches the bank for details of the customers account,banks directly approach the customer,pay off the money and ask the customer not to proceed with the case.As the complainant gets back the stolen money,he or she will no more cooperate with the investigating agencies,resulting in pending of the case.

Cyber Crime sleuths have also found bank staff not following norms and guidelines.They discovered that bank staff was lethargic.For isntance,for identity and address verification they accept mobile phone bill photocopy to open an account without checking the originals,not following the method of existing customer introducing new customers,sending ATM PIN details and transaction statements through private couriers and not cross-checking the acknowledgment.

Police also found that some private banks have been recruiting staff without proper bankground verification,making confidential client data highly vulnerable.

In more than one case,we have found the accused were in possession of over 2000 account details,including grid numbers of credit cards,of private bank customers.

We are certain that some bank employees might have provided details, a Cyber Crime officer said.

Due to accounts opened with fake ID proofs,it becomes difficult for police to nab the offender whose account the stolen money gets transferred.Another difficulty agencies are facing is with regard to foreign offenders.In about halfa-dozen cases,the offenders IP address had been traced to a foreign destination.

To get a warrant on the user of the IP address,the CID first has to obtain a warrant from local court and then write to MHA.After MHA gives concurrence,the same then has to be forwarded to CBIs Interpol section for sending it to their counterparts in the respective country.

However,so far not a single case has been cracked as all such requests were still pending with the MHA.
Source: Times Location : Hyderabad