According to officers of the Cyber Crime Cell of the Chandigarh Police, complaints are pouring in from all corners, even from other states. Eminent victims of cyber crime include former Vice-Chancellor of the Panjab University, K N Pathak, and PGI director K K Talwar, the internet accounts of whom were misused by hackers to send fraudulent e-mails.

“Spreading awareness about cyber-related frauds among the public is the need of the hour. The cyber cell is well-equipped to deal with such crimes,” said Inspector General of Police S K Jain.

Newsline looks at some trends prevailing in cyber crime

* Online banking, mobile banking fraud: A person’s bank account is hacked into and funds are transferred to another account. In November 2008, the police registered a case against three persons from Maharashtra and West Bengal for illegally transferring Rs 2.65 lakh from a Punjab resident’s bank account to their own using the facility of mobile banking.

* Online share trading: A fraud of Rs 11 lakh came to light in February 2008 wherein the accused had hacked the online demat account password of the complainant, Sandeep Mittal, and sold his shares. Later, four persons were arrested under Sections 65 and 66 of the Information Technology Act 2000 and Section 420 of the IPC.

* Fake profiles on Orkut: Miscreants make fake profiles and post mobile numbers of women online allowing others to send lewd messages to them. The police had recently arrested an employee of Dell, Sumit Dar, for hacking his former girlfriend’s password and sending morphed, obscene pictures of hers to others. The accused can be identified easily if the service provider is taken into confidence, but tracking the case becomes difficult once the profile is deleted. “Usually, girls come to us after deleting the profile,” said a police officer.

* Online lotteries, migratory schemes: A fake e-mail tempting one to invest money in an online lottery or an email luring people by showing an easy way out to greener pastures pops up in your mailbox. Recently, Surinder Chauhan, filed a complaint when he realised that he had been duped after he transferred a large amount to the conmen through his bank account. The mail was reportedly sent from Mumbai and promised to arrange visa to the UK.

* Web extortion racket: A woman, Puja Negi, was arrested for involvement in an extortion racket. According to the police, one of the accused was friends online with the complainant. During the conversation, the complainant disclosed personal details, which the accused later used to blackmail the victim.

* Fraudulent mails: An e-mail, stating that PGI director K K Talwar was in Nigeria and in dire need of money, was sent to all persons on Talwar’s friends’ list from his email ID. The crime came to light only after a friend from the US called the PGI director.