They say `all is fair in love and war'. And, more and
more tech-savvy youths are using `virtual' means at their disposal to prove
this true. There has been a 40 per cent rise in cybercrime rate since 2011, say
cops. Complaints mainly involve youths who find social networking sites an
effective medium to bully others or seek revenge.
The major reasons for the creation of fake profiles
are generally matrimonial dispute, rejection, business rivalry or collegeschool
fights, say experts.
LOVE KE LIYE...
Sumita Patel, a brilliant student, befriended another
Gujarati, Dhaval Dave, while studying in the UK. Soon, Dave, who hailed from
Mumbai, and Sumita became best buddies.All was fine till both parted ways after
completing their respective courses and returned to India. Sumita got engaged
to a guy in Ahmedabad. This triggered Dhaval's obsession with her. He professed
his love but Sumita turned him down. Enraged by the rejection, Dhaval turned
vengeful. He hacked into her Facebook account and posted hundreds of abusive
messages on her profile. He tried to blackmail her into having a relationship
with him.Upset by this, Sumita filed an FIR with the cybercrime cell who found
Dhaval guilty and arrested him.
Officials of the cybercrime cell revealed, “More than
50 per cent of cybercrimes in the city are committed by people suffering from jealousy,
or those seeking revenge following rejection.“ “Kajal Rawal worked for a
cellphone service provider in the city. A contract employee fell in love with
her at first sight.Assuming he stood no chance with her, the youth downloaded
her pictures from her Facebook profile and created a false profile where he
posted her mobile number inviting obscene phone calls from anonymous persons.
Following a police complaint, he was arrested,“ revealed an official.
IGNORANT OF DANGER
Citing another example, he said, “A schoolgirl
created a fake profile of her friend, posting indecent remarks about her.
Youths are impulsive.They fail to handle rejection or failure well and take to
the virtual world to seek revenge and carry out cybercrime without realising
its dangers.“
The official added, “Exboyfriends find networking
sites a good platform to vent their wrath on girls. They think they can pull it
off without getting caught. Since 2011, cybercrime in the city has seen a surge
of 40 per cent. While only 25 complaints of Facebook crime, mainly creation of
fake profiles, were lodged in 2011, it rose to 138 in 2014.“
Social media experts blame excessive use of
smartphones and limited knowledge as the reason behind the rise in the number.
“Everyone owns a smartphone. And due to growing usage of internet, cybercrime
is on the rise. Unfortunately, while people have access to technology, they do
not understand the repercussions of committing such a crime,“ said Rajnish
Mehra, a social media expert.
ACCUSED KNOWN
Inspector (Cybercrime cell) Kiran Patel said,
“Facebook is a threat. Youngsters use it to target partners who have upset
them, bully others, or use it to pull down someone more popular or successful
than them.We regularly receive cases regarding fake profiles. Majority of
complainants are youngsters. In most cases, people known to the victims are
involved. A major part of the complaints involve creation of fake profile of
girls.“
Creation of a fake profile or identity theft which is
covered under Section 66a of the Information Technology Act is a bailable
offence. If a person is also engaging in posting vulgar and wrong data about
the victim then they can be punished for a minimum of three years.
CYBER SAFETY
To protect yourself from being a cybercrime victim,
Cybercrime Cell Inspector Kiran Patel has some suggestions.
» Do not click any objectionable picture with a
partner
» If you do take such a picture, make sure your
partner does not have access to it
» Do not share your password with anyone, no matter
how close or trustworthy the other person is
» If your partner sends you suspicious links, do not
click on it as there are sites that record your password
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