Cybercrimes shoot up by 112% in Mumbai in five years

MUMBAI: Cybercrimes in the city surged 112% in five years -from 1,361 cases in 2017 to 2,883 in 2021-according to a report released by non-profit Praja Foundation recently.

Cheating cases, whether through loan apps, matrimonial frauds or job scams, topped the list of cybercrimes last year with 1,154 FIRs being lodged. Online frauds involving debit/credit cards were next on the list-1,075 FIRs filed. According to the data, detection rate of cybercrimes was low at 16% in 2021. Experts pointed out that the number of FIRs being registered were very less compared to actual complaints.

“Mobile phones have become facilitators of cybercrime. Negligence in prosecution will make cybercriminals more arrogant,” said cyber lawyer Prashant Mali. A large number of cybercrime victims make online complaints on the national portal (cybercrime.gov.in).