Private and startup employees key target for cyber criminals in Telangana  

Telangana cybercrime data reveals high number of employee victims in Hyderabad, with identity theft and investment frauds prevalent.

Of the 10,135 cybercrime cases reported in Telangana in March 2024, over 4,272 (42.15%) victims were employees, data shared by the Telangana State Cyber Security Bureau (TSCSB) revealed.  

A whopping 2,863 were private employees and 351 were software or Information Technology (IT) employees working largely in Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda. This was followed by 786 who were self-employed, including startup owners, while 272 were government employees.  

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As many as 525 businessmen fell prey to cyber criminals this month, in which ‘identity theft’ and ‘business and investment frauds’ were the key Modus Operandi (MO).  

In case of impersonation or cheating, fraudsters impersonate popular business entities, higher officers or even fake customer care executives and con unsuspecting victims through calls. Prominent frauds in this category include parcel frauds, trending in the last six months, in which cyber criminals impersonated as executives of two top global logistics and courier companies and customs officials. This also includes credit/debit card fraud - where victims are defrauded on the pretext of blocking of the card, card limit enhancement, KYC updation, PAN card linkage, replacement of card, reward Points and even Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS).

In business and investment frauds, on the other hand, fraudsters lure unsuspecting investors into making significant investments on fake trading apps. The most common MO is to add the victim to a WhatsApp group under the pretext of sharing trading-related information followed by sharing an app link on which victims can invest. When victims attempt to withdraw their supposed profits, the fraudsters deny the withdrawal requests, resulting in significant financial losses.

“As a community, startup owners could be slightly more mature than the normal public. But fraudsters are a step ahead of us and there is a long way to go both from an individual and business level,” said Mahakali Srinivas Rao, the chief executive officer at T-Hub.  Larger companies have caught up by deploying extensive cyber security systems and insurance, however, the middle spectrum constituting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and startups are still vulnerable as it an added cost, he added.