Anti-phishing portal sees steep rise in cyber-crime complaints amid pandemic

The anti-phishing portal created by the Maharashtra Police department in 2019 for receiving complaints on cyber-crimes saw a four-fold rise in such complaints in 2020.

From March to December 2019, the portal received 790 complaints. In 2020 (from January to December), when online commerce and banking activity increased due to the lockdown, the complaints received on the portal shot up to 3,938. In 2021, till date, as many as 1,368 complaints have been received.

The portal was started with an aim to have a specialised team to enact all measures required to help detect and act on cyber-crimes as soon as possible through focused coordination.