14 cybercrime hotspots detected in West Bengal alone: Future Crime Research Foundation report

What’s the news: West Bengal has 14 emerging cybercrime hotspots, as per a whitepaper released by the Future Crime Research Foundation, a non-profit startup incubated at IIT Kanpur. The “A Deep Dive into Cybercrime Trends Impacting India” report provides insights on cybercrime distribution and trends in India based on analysis of crime data from January 2020 to June 2023.

Based on these trends, the report lists emerging cybercrime hotspots in regions “where various forms of digital criminal activity are on the rise,” catching law enforcement agencies and the public off-guard. Accordingly, it listed the following regions:

• West Bengal: Purba Bardhaman, Dhulchandria, Bhadral, Dakshin Dinajpur, Birbhum, Paschim Bardhaman, Burnpur, Barchaman, Howrah, Kolkata, Malda, Baharampur, Nadia, Nekra Mahuli (Paschim)
• Uttar Pradesh: Bulandshahar, Ghaziabad, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Domakhas Maharajganj, Mathura, Sitapur, Mathura, Jevar, Gautam Budh Nagar
• Delhi: Ashok Nagar, Uttam Nagar (West), New Ashok Nagar, Shakkur Pur (East), Harkesh Nagar Okhla (South East), Dasrath Puri, RK Puram (South West), Azadpur (North West)
• Bihar: Banka, Begusarai, Jamui, Nalanda, Patna, Sasaram, Sheikhpura
• Jharkhand: Latehar, Dhanbad, Santhal Pargana, Hazaribagh, Khunti, Narayanpur, Ranchi
• Haryana: Bhiwani, Nuh, Hatangoan, Manota, Hasanpur, Palwal
• Rajasthan: Bidarka, Alwar, Barmer, Bharatpur, Dungarpur, Jaipur
• Assam: Barpeta, Dhubri, Golpara, Morigaon, Nagaon
• Odisha: Balasore, Dhenkanal, Jajapur, Kendujhar, Mayurbhanj

Other emerging regions may be viewed here.

Why it matters: Indian law enforcement agencies have taken various measures in recent years to address crime-related issues. For example, the telecommunications department uses ASTR, and Tamil Nadu police use facial recognition for addressing crime. Understanding the distribution and type of cybercrimes in India helps understand the validity of the nature and severity of ASTR-like measures enforcement in different cities.

Top 10 cybercrime epicenters in India

Along with emerging hotspots, the report also listed the top 10 districts in India that are most prone to cybercrime. These regions accounted for a little over 80 percent of reported cybercrimes in India Accordingly, the report listed:

• Bharatpur, Rajasthan (18 percent)
• Mathura, Uttar Pradesh (12 percent)
• Nuh, Haryana (11 percent)
• Deoghar, Jharkhand (10 percent)
• Jamtara, Jharkhand (9.6 percent)
• Gurgaon, Haryana (8.1 percent)
• Alwar, Rajasthan (5.1 percent)
• Bokaro, Jharkhand (2.4 percent)
• Karma Tand, Jharkhand (2.4 percent)
• Giridih, Jharkhand (2.3 percent)

As is evident from the above list, Rajasthan accounted for 23.1 percent of cybercrimes, while Jharkhand accounted for 21.8 percent of the total. Common factors leading to the rise in cybercrimes in these regions include proximity to urban cities, low digital literacy, limited public infrastructure, and socio-economic situations leading people to cybercrime for income.

Prevalent cybercrimes along India’s central belt

The report looked at the types of cybercrimes prevalent in Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Delhi and Bihar.

Rajasthan

• Sextortion: Exploiting victims through social engineering tactics.
• OLX Fraud: Frauds within online marketplaces.
• Customer Care Fraud: Impersonating customer support on Google and social media platforms.

Jharkhand

• OTP Scams: Exploiting one-time passwords for illicit purposes.
• KYC Frauds: Fraudulent Know Your Customer processes.
• Electricity Bill Frauds: Manipulating utility bills.
• KBC Scams: Deceptive online quiz show and contest scams.

Delhi

• Loan App Harassment: Harassing individuals using digital lending platforms.
• Gift Frauds: Scams involving gift purchases.
• Matrimonial Frauds: Deceptive practices on matchmaking websites.
• Electricity Bill Frauds: Manipulating utility bills.
• Job and Investment Frauds: Deceptive employment and
• investment schemes.

Bihar

• Fake Links: Manipulative URLs used for phishing.
• OTP Frauds: Illicit use of one-time passwords.
• Social Engineering Scams: Manipulating individuals
• through psychological tactics.
• Debit/Credit Card Frauds: Unauthorized card transactions.

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