How to file a Cyber Crime Complaint?

Introduction:

Today is the age of digitalization and everything is getting digitalized from phones to cars. This is proof that mankind has taken huge progress in technology, however, with this rapid growth in it, there is also a huge risk in misuse of these technologies. In this era of digitalization, a new type of crime has been added on called, cybercrime. According to some reports, the number of cyber fraud cases in India till 2018, is 3,353 and ATM frauds 1,284 and the highest crime with arrests and convictions are of computer-related offenses.[1]

Today, there’s nothing safe in this world. Even, there are many government sites and many twitter accounts that have been hacked over the years. Hacking is one of the most common forms of cybercrime in which a person steals someone’s personal information, messages, call logs, financial data, etc without their permission and misuses it. There are many other types of cybercrimes like cyberstalking, invasion of privacy, trolling, cyber harassments, cyber extortion.

In a developing country like India, cybercrime is still a new threat to the public because not many people have much knowledge about different types of cybercrimes and what to do if one becomes a victim of cybercrime. Therefore, we all should be familiar with what is cybercrime, how is the complaint filed, where is it filed.

What are Cyber Crimes?

Cyber Crime in brief means a crime that is related to computers. According to the National cybercrime portal that, “It is an illegal act in which a crime is committed with the use of computers, or commutation devices or computer networks.”[2]  Cybercrime may threaten a person, company, or a nation’s security and financial health. In cyber crimes, the person who commits the crime usually uses techniques like social engineering, phishing, and all kinds of malware to pursue their nefarious plans. Cybercrimes have been considered as one of the most dangerous forms of crime in the 21^st century, as in these crimes the offender can extract all the information about a person or organization by sitting at home only through a computer. The offender has no boundaries or limitations.

Types of Cybercrimes

There are many types of cyber crimes that are being committed throughout the world. A few of the common and accepted forms of cybercrimes are:

• Phishing: Phishing is a type of fraud where fake and malicious email messages are sent to people to gather their personal information live CVV number, bank details, IPIN, etc. These emails tend to appear legitimate that is why many people become a victim of this type of cybercrime.[3]
• Cyber Stalking: In this, a person harasses an individual by continuously attempting to contact them through different online portals to foster information despite clear indications that they are not interested to share their information.[4]
• Online Scams: Online scams are deception which involves the emails or messages in which a person is promised for rewards and offers in monetary forms or gift vouchers but instead there bank details are stolen.[5]
• Identity Theft: Identity Theft takes place when an attacker dishonestly tries to use any other person’s electronic signature, password, or other unique identity features.[6]

Cyber Laws in India

Cybercrimes are dealt with under the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act). The IT Act came into force on October 17, 2000, and the main purpose of the act is to provide legal recognition to E-commerce and the transactions that are carried in it.

How to file a Cybercrime complaint?

It is crucial to file a complaint against any type of crime, no matter how small it is, because first, it will bring justice to the victim and second, if we let go of a small crime then the person who committed it can gain confidence and can even continue to commit even big crimes. Therefore, if a person becomes a victim of cybercrime then the first and foremost thing to do is to lodge a complaint against cybercrime. So the steps to file a cybercrime complaint are-

1. The first step to file a cybercrime complaint is to register a written complaint explaining the full incident to the cyber cell of the city where the crime occurred or we can also lodge the complaint in any of the cyber cells in India, as per the Information Technology Act.[7]
2. We have to provide our name, contact details, and our mailing address in the written complaint, and also we have to address the complaint to the Head of the Cyber Cell of the city where we are lodging the complaint.[8]
3. In case if there is no access of a cyber cell in their city and if the cybercrime comes under the Indian Penal Code, then we can file an FIR at the local police station because it is mandatory, under Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to record a complaint by the police officer despite of the jurisdiction of the crime or we can go either to the Commissioner or the Judicial Magistrate. Although. [9]

Filing a Complaint online

1. We can even register our complaint online through the website cybercrime.gov.in, it is a national cybercrime reporting portal.
2. Then we have to click on the “File a complaint” option.
3. Then go through the terms and the Privacy Policy of the site. After reading it click on the “I Accept” option.
4. Then we will get two options, 1^st “Report Cyber Crime Related to Women/Child” and 2^nd “Report Other Cyber Crime”. Choose the option depending on the nature of the crime that is committed. In the “Report Cyber Crime Related to Women/Child,” we have also an option to report a crime “Anonymously”.
5. Then we have to log in on the page. To do so we have to register our mobile number and fill the other required options and also we have to submit the One Time Password that we will receive in the mobile number that we submitted for registration.
6. Then we have to fill the relevant details about the crime that are asked like when the crime took place, the details of the crime, etc.

Filing a Social Media Related Cyber Crime Complain

1. In case of a social media-related cybercrime, we have to add screenshots of the alleged content or the profile along the written complaint.
2. In case of alleged content, we have to share a copy of the URL of the site.
3. We have to submit both the hard and the soft copy of the contents and the soft copy should be given in COMPACT DISC – Recordable form only.[10]

Filing a Mobile Application related Cyber Crime Complaint.

1. In order file, a complaint against a mobile app one has to share a screenshot of the app and also the place from where he downloaded the app.
2. All the related documents required should be submitted in soft copy.
3. If in case the Mobile App has fraudulently taken our money then we have to submit the Bank statement of the transaction.[11]

Filing a Net Banking and Lottery Scams related to Cyber Crime Complaint

1. We have to submit the last six months’ bank statement along with a copy of ID proof and address proof that is shown in the bank records in the written complaint.
2. We also have to make a copy of the SMS that we received from the alleged transactions.

Filing a Bitcoin Based Complaints

Along with the written complaint, we have to attach the address of the bitcoin, the number of bitcoins and we also have to address from whom we bought bitcoins or to whom we sold the bitcoins.[12]

Conclusion

The IT amendment Act, 2008 is the right initiative that was taken by the Indian Government in order to prevent or reduce the rate of cybercrimes in India. The IT Act 2008, bought some important changes in the cyber law world which helped in tightening the defense of India from cyber threats, and it also helped in maintaining the sovereignty, integrity of India. A few of these changes are the prohibition of child pornography, empowering the central and state government of India to intercept, monitor, or decrypt any information in any computer resources, it also empowered the government for banning contents on the internet that could be a harm for the security of the nation. 

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References:

[1] Topic: Cyber crime in India. (n.d.). Statista. Retrieved September 12, 2020, from https://www.statista.com/topics/5054/cyber-crime-in-india/#:~:text=In%20fact%2C%20according%20to%20a

[2] Cyber Crime Portal. (n.d.). Www.Cybercrime.Gov.In. Retrieved September 12, 2020, from https://www.cybercrime.gov.in/Webform/CrimeCatDes.aspx

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid

[5] Ibid

[6] Ibid

[7] How to File a Cyber Crime Complaint in India | Steps to register a Cyber Crime FIR. (2018, April 24). IFF Lab. https://ifflab.org/how-to-file-a-cyber-crime-complaint-in-india/

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid.

[10]Cyber Crime Portal. (n.d.). Www.Cybercrime.Gov.In. Retrieved September 12, 2020, from https://www.cybercrime.gov.in/Webform/CrimeCatDes.aspx

[11] Ibid.

[12] https://ifflab.org/how-to-file-a-cyber-crime-complaint-in-india/