Indians lose ₹1.5 lakh to cyber criminals every minute: official

Cybercrime in India is on the rise, with citizens losing lakhs every minute, prompting urgent cybersecurity measures.

Citizens are losing anywhere between ₹1.3 - ₹1.5 lakh to cyber criminals every minute in India. This comes at a time when the recovery rate average for the country has been pegged lower than 20%.

These estimates were shared by Bhavesh Mishra, Deputy Secretary, Telangana IT and Electronics Department speaking at the ISACA Annual Cyber Security Conference in Madhapur, Hyderabad, on Saturday (September 28, 2024).

Underscoring that the Third World War could be a ‘mathematician war’, Mr. Mishra called companies dealing with Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security (the codebreakers) to set up shop in the 200-acre AI City unveiled by the Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy earlier in September to tackle the growing menace of cybercrimes.

Meanwhile, Cyberabad Commissioner of Police Avinash Mohanty said cybercrime today is over 30% of the cognisable crimes in the commissionerate. This may soon rise to 50% in the time to come, he added.

Talking about the role of police (and regulatory authorities) in curbing cyber crime in the state, the official stressed on focus on prevention. “We need to move away from just doing ‘postmortem’ (after the fraud is done) to actually addressing the situation before it’s all lost,” he said.

Underlining the dynamic nature of cybercrimes, Mr. Mohanty highlighted an urgent need to speed up the regulatory framework with coordination between government and industries.

The official also called out banks to strengthen their Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures, improve oversight and audit and ensure compliance to regulation. “Several investigations have revealed that multiple companies associated with the same address and with common directors are involved in cybercrime. It is as if ready-made companies are prepared in India and handed over to individuals who want to create frauds,” the official said.