QR codes of awareness videos by Cops on display

Mysore/Mysuru: Mysuru City Police, along with CID and Cyber Crime Unit of Karnataka Police, have set up an exclusive display hub on cyber crime at a dedicated stall at Dasara Exhibition Grounds.

The stall was inaugurated last evening by City Police Commissioner Dr. Chandragupta, SP (CID) Dr. M.N. Anucheth and Cyber Crime Dy.SP Yashwanth.

They also released a pamphlet on cyber crimes, tips and a bunch QR codes linking to awareness videos made by Cops. Others present during the inauguration were Mounted Police Commandant M.G. Nagaraju, ACP Shashidhar and Karnataka Exhibition Authority (KEA) Chairman Mirle Srinivasa Gowda.

Karnataka Police Mobile application, Cyber Cell and Cyber forensic information both are on display and audio video information have been arranged at the stall.

The main aim of setting up the display hub is to create awareness on cyber crimes, its changing faces, new modus operandi and newer strategies to extract money from unsuspecting users.

Prevention of tomorrow’s cyber breaches begins with the education of today’s youth. The exhibition is aimed at empowering visitors with the tools to stay safe in a digital age, said Dr. Chandragupta. Cyber security poses a bigger threat than any other spectrum of technology and cyber criminals have already started abusing technology-controlled devices for propelling cyber crimes such as frauds and thefts, he added.

There are several Government initiatives to combat cyber crimes and the programmes have been implemented with the objective of capacity building in the area of information security, training of Government personnel and creation of mass information security awareness, the Commissioner noted.

On the end-user front, they can ensure several steps so as to not fall prey to cyber crimes. Securing internet networks and financial details with strong passwords, ensuring that our software is up-to-date, ignoring pop-ups, controlling personal and private data, not sharing OTP and not responding to suspicious calls, texts and mails are some of the steps that might keep us safe from cyber fraud, he added.

SP Anucheth noted that a spike in cybercrimes and attacks has targeted private citizens’ wallets and personal data. This despite the fact that the Police emphasising that one should not share their personal information or credentials with unknown people out of some temptation or for monetary benefits.

He said that cyber crime has various dimensions and if anybody notices such crime, they should lodge a complaint at the nearby Police Station or call Cyber Crime Police on toll-free number 1930 or Dial 112.

Gangs and individuals target people with fake job letters, KYC verification and fake social media profiles. Reimbursement of fake reward points or cashbacks of e-commerce giants, SOS messages for urgent cash through fake hacked Facebook accounts, customer care number manipulation, frauds in the guise of refund of train and airline tickets and other online payments are some of the ways criminals have adopted to dupe people, he said.

The exhibition highlights crimes like phishing, child pornography, video-call-targeted offences, OTP frauds and latest 4G SIM card to 5G SIM card swap fraud and e-mail phishing, gift, job and instant loan-related crimes and its safety awareness. Also, a citizen-centric portal, e-lost details, password safety and social media hygiene tips are on display.