Indians lost around ₹7,000cr to online scams this year
What's the story
Indians have suffered a massive financial blow from online scams in the first five months of this year, losing around ₹7,000 crore. The staggering figure was revealed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Most of these scams were traced back to operators based in Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries like Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.
Scam operations
Scams run from secure locations controlled by Chinese operators
The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), a unit under the MHA, has found that such scams are often run from highly secure locations. These places are allegedly controlled by Chinese operators. Also, the report highlights that on an average, these scams have been costing India around ₹1,000 crore every month.
Types
India has identified 45 scam compounds in Cambodia
A recent investigation has identified three main types of cybercrime frauds operating from Southeast Asia: share trading/investment scams, digital arrest, and task-based or investment-based scams. The Indian government, with the help of intelligence agencies, has identified at least 45 such scam compounds in Cambodia alone. Five were found in Laos and one in Myanmar.
Recruitment
Recruiters are operating from these states
Law enforcement agencies have also tracked agents that are recruiting Indians for these scam operations. Most of the recruiters were found to be operating from Maharashtra (59), Tamil Nadu (51), Jammu and Kashmir (46), Uttar Pradesh (41), and Delhi (38).