This article is written by Unnati Dixit, a 2nd-year B.A.L.L.B. (Hons.) student at Arya Kanya Degree College (aff. University of Allahabad). This article studies not just the legal statutes and framework, but the real number of cases of those who fell prey to this term called “cybercrime”.
Keywords: cybercrime, fraud, digital arrest, IT Act, 2000, cyber security
On an ordinary day, a woman gets a call in the name of insurance, gets asked for an OTP and the next minute she loses her life’s savings, still not having understood what actually happened.
It may be an “ordinary day” for anyone, but definitely not the victim of such crimes. This one such incident is Cybercrime today. Crime here neither needs a weapon nor a face-to-face confrontation, it just had a screen, communication network and the crime was committed.
India crossed approx 28.38% by 2023, with a total of 86,420 cases recorded in 2023 by the National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB). These are not just numbers but stories, and people like businessmen, professionals, students, etc., were victimised by cybercrimes. In 2024, the newspaper print of The Hindu recorded that almost 700 people fall prey to cybercrime every day in Delhi. This reflects a loophole wide enough to run an illegal industry; to say it is that:
“Anyone can fall victim to cybercrime, and any computing device can be infected with malware. Nobody is immune to cybercrime.”
The Technological Transformation
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is the most advanced technological transformation. The Covid pandemic led almost all the institutions like schools, hospitals, government sectors and other facilities to online portals in less than a month. Telecommunication developed with online transactions, banking apps, online meetings, booking and services like from gas subsidies to income tax and Aadhar linked identity. But every advanced connectivity leads to a new vulnerability to crime. The same technological transformation led to the crimes commitment as it lacked legal and technical policy making space for cybercrimes.
What is Cybercrime?
The word “cybercrime” connotes a vast meaning in itself. According to its definition, it can be any illegal activity carried out by a computer, network device or communication network as a primary tool or target committing any illegal act.
Cybercrime in India includes; financial frauds, job scams, phishing, OTP-theft, cyberstalking, sextortion, mopping of photos and videos, unauthorized access like hacking, data arrest etc. A new emerging phenomenon is “Digital Arrest” that is, a psychological coercion and manipulation that has no legal basis but leads to devastating loss.
Legal Framework Governing Cybercrime
Cybercrimes in India are primarily governed by the following statues:
1. The Information Technology Act, 2000: the foundational statute for cybercrimes. It deals with digital crime in various sections, some of which are-
Section 43 states that if anyone gets access without the permission of the true owner and causes some damage or harm, they must be punished.
Section 66 states that if any digital offence that is computer-related is commenced like theft, privacy violation, cyber stalking, or cyber harassment will be punished.
Section 77 states that if there is a breach or violation regarding someone’s confidentiality for some good possession, they will be punished.
Section 69A gives immunity or power to the government to block any online content if that subject is of national security.
2. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023: This replaced the Indian Penal Code and came into effect in 2024, supplementing the IT Act with provisions or rules relating to any criminal act in a cyber offence. It includes crimes like sextortion, forgery, cheating, etc.
3. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023: It deals with and lays down rules for the protection of processing personal data and imposes heavy penalties for failures.
Law is the ultimate response to human every day commotions. Each section of either the IT Act or the court’s jurisdiction reflects a step towards safety for public crimes.
The Human Real Time Stories
Any offence committed doesn’t just affect a single individual but a whole community. Some of those real-life stories are:
A 70-year-old retired navy officer received a call from a man who misrepresented himself to be a CBI Officer and told him that an arrest warrant was issued against his father. For many days he kept the family under Digital Arrest by using fake documents and forged 1.29 crores. This reflected into a scam that affected a huge number.
Similarly, in case of manipulation, an employee was taken into custody for tampering with an electronic 32-bit number programmed into cellphones and was charged for theft. The main source code itself was manipulated. The question arises again, is using the normal cellphone device even safe?
There are several many cases of different types of cybercrimes so heinous that many victims unable to cope the humiliation, loss or trauma commits suicide. This story leaves behind a lack of “trust”, a weapon named “fear” and crime very known to people as “cybercrime”.
Case Law
Several cases reflect the cybercrimes in India; the judgement of courts led to the improvised laws. Some of the cases are:
Shreya Singhal vs. Union of India, in this case, the Supreme Court struck down Section 66A of the IT Act as unconstitutional for being vague and violative of Article 19(1)(a). This landmark judgement led to the right to speech in cyberspace.
State of UP vs. Raj Narain, the Supreme Court’s landmark judgement that made the Right to Information a fundamental right. This right led to the right to information for the public in any governmental document, official working report, etc., reflecting the idea of transparency. Through this, people would have clear knowledge and wouldn’t get manipulated by any third-party misinformation.
These cases reflect how the law, with the increasing number of crimes, adjudicates them.
Conclusion
To conclude, Cybercrime in India today, is not a legal problem but a mass societal problem that leaves many broken lives behind. With several cases across the country the statutes transformed from just the Information Technology Act (IT Act), 2000 to considering some offenses as criminal offences considered under the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 to Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
What is still constant is the human dimension of fear, loss, humiliation and the adverse societal disruption. Cybercrime has grown alongside the country’s digital infrastructure. The cases and stories examined in this article reflect that even though the judiciary has taken steps, the legislation still needs to take strong reforms and better enforcement for the long-term betterment and to prevent such digital crimes.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What should a person do after they are under cyber-attack?
The person must report the cybercrime immediately to National Cyber Crime Helpline 1930 that is coordinated by Indian Cybercrime Centre to flag the fraud and freeze any ongoing transaction.
2. What should a person do if the helpline doesn’t connect?
If a person is unable to reach 1930 then they should immediately reach out to Emergency Helpline Number 112 and they will transfer the call to 1930.
3. Can lost money be recovered?
Yes, the lost money can be recovered. The report must be filed under the helpline provided within 24 hours of the cybercrime committed. It requests the respective Bank to freeze the accounts.
4. How do one prevent cybercrime?
- Use long passwords (exclude date of birth, account number etc.)
- Switch on the Two Factor authentication.
- Avoid sharing credentials like One-time passwords (OTPs) or PIN numbers.
