We always keep saying “it won’t happen to us” and that is what scammers are counting on.
India recorded over 28.15 lakh cybercrime cases in 2025, a 24% spike from 22.68 lakh cases in 2024. A cybercrime complaint was being filed roughly every single minute across the country. Indians lost at least ₹22,495 crore to cyber fraud in 2025, with investment scams alone accounting for over 75% of total financial losses.
Many cases still go unreported out of fear, shame, or simply not knowing where and how to report. Children and elderly are the two groups who trust the internet blindly and understand its reality the least.
What is a Cybercrime?
For most people, cybercrime brings to mind images of hooded figures typing furiously in dark rooms, like something out of a Bollywood thriller. The reality is far more ordinary and far more dangerous because of it.
Cybercrime is simply any illegal activity that uses a computer, phone, or the internet as a tool. It doesn't require expensive equipment, technical genius, or a server room. It requires an opportunity and someone who doesn't see it coming.
That includes:
- A "CBI officer" calling your elderly father - threatening arrest unless he transfers money immediately to "clear his name." The voice sounds official. The fear is real. The person on the other end is a fraudster sitting in a rented room.
- A stranger online builds a friendship with your teenager - slowly, over weeks, asking for photos, personal details, or to meet somewhere. No hacking involved. Just patience, manipulation, and a child who trusts too easily.
- A "Congratulations, you've won!" link - that looks exactly like a real bank or government page. One tap, a few details entered, and your account is emptied before you realise what happened.
- A WhatsApp message saying your KYC has expired - with a link and a deadline. Urgent enough that you don't stop to question it. Professional enough that it looks legitimate.
None of these required a single line of code. No hacking. No sophisticated tools.
What they all have in common is one human moment of trust, fear, or distraction. That is the real vulnerability cybercriminals exploit.
And that is precisely why anyone can be a victim. Not because they are careless or uneducated, but because these attacks are designed by people who study human psychology full-time, people who know exactly which emotion to trigger and when.
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Why Are Children a Prime-Target of CyberAttackers?
Children are online more than ever. In India, millions of kids access smartphones, YouTube, gaming apps, and social media daily and often without any supervision.
NCRB 2024 data registered 1,238 cybercrime cases against children in a single year. Nine out of every ten of these involved sexually explicit material, meaning a child was either groomed, photographed, or exploited online. Crimes against children overall rose 46% between 2020 and 2024, from 1.28 lakh to 1.87 lakh cases, even as overall crime in India fell.
States with the most reported child cybercrime cases: Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Kerala, together accounting for 66% of all such cases.
How do they target children? (What parents must know)
- Organised Crime Networks - Not Just Lone Predators Anymore What used to be a lone stranger is now a coordinated operation. Organised groups can exploit children quickly and at scale - in 2025, Project Artemis saw investigators from the US, Australia, Canada, and Nigeria working to dismantle a criminal network thought to have targeted thousands of teenagers globally.
- Virtual Reality & Gaming Metaverse - The Unmonitored Room in Your Home VR headsets used with games place children inside immersive 3D spaces with strangers, no moderation, no visibility for parents. Due to the immersive nature of VR, children can form memories from virtual experiences, meaning abuse that occurs virtually can become a real-world traumatic memory.
In 2025, former Meta employees testified before the US Senate that the company's VR products exposed children to nudity, sexual propositions. Sadistic Sextortion - Beyond Money Blackmail has evolved into something darker. 9% of child sextortion victims were targeted with demands to physically hurt themselves. Perpetrators in what is called sadistic sextortion may also demand victims harm others, perform inappropriate acts, or inflict animal cruelty. It no longer stops at "send more photos or we tell your parents."
Grooming is when a stranger slowly builds trust with a child over weeks or months through games, compliments, secrets, and gifts. It almost always starts on platforms your child uses every day: gaming apps, Instagram DMs, Snapchat.
Blackmail: A child shares a photo. The criminal then threatens to send it to their parents or classmates unless more photos or money are provided. This is called sextortion, and it is devastating children across India.
AI deepfakes: Criminals are now using AI to create fake explicit images of children using regular photos from their social media profiles. Your child doesn't even have to share anything inappropriate. A school photo is enough.
Fake friend requests: Strangers create convincing fake profiles of classmates or friends to gain a child's trust. The NCRB 2024 report found that social media platforms, online gaming, and private chat apps are the primary entry points.
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Warning Signs Parents Should Know - YOUR Child Could be in Trouble!
- Suddenly switches off or hides the phone when you walk in
- Becomes withdrawn, anxious, or unusually upset after being online
- Is receiving gifts, money, or recharges from unknown sources
- Has online "friends" they refuse to name or discuss
- Uses the phone very late at night, especially in secret
Five things every parent should do right now:
- Put the computer/tablet in a common room. Keep doors open when children are online.
- All social media profiles must be set to PRIVATE. Check this together with your child.
- Apps like Snapchat delete messages automatically - making it impossible for you to monitor what your child is seeing.
- Have the talk early and often. Tell your child: "If anyone online asks you to share photos, keep secrets from parents, or makes you feel uncomfortable”. You will NOT get in trouble." Most children don't tell because they fear losing phone access or being scolded.
- Sudden behavioural changes are a red flag. Check their online activity if you notice withdrawal, anxiety, or distress.
Why Senior-Citizens Are Targeted by Cybercriminals?
Cybercriminals often view older adults as particularly vulnerable targets due to a combination of financial, technological, and social factors. Many senior citizens:
- May be less familiar with evolving digital technologies and online fraud tactics.
- Tend to be more trusting of unsolicited communications and authority figures.
- Often hesitate to report fraud due to embarrassment, fear, or concerns about losing independence.
- Spend significant periods alone, making them more susceptible to deceptive phone calls, messages, and social engineering attempts.
These factors can make older adults disproportionately vulnerable to financial scams, identity theft, and other forms of cyber-enabled fraud.
Research by: (Shrabana Chattopadhyay & Dr. Manvendra Singh) confirms that between 2019 and 2021, cybercrime in India more than quadrupled — from 1,379 to 5,646 cases in a single study cohort and the elderly were disproportionately affected.
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Digital Arrest: A SCAM that became a National Concern
One cyber threat every Indian family needs to understand.
What happens: Your parent gets a call (usually WhatsApp or Skype). The caller says: "Your Aadhaar/SIM card/bank account has been used in a money laundering/drug trafficking case. You are about to be arrested. To avoid this, do NOT tell anyone and stay on this call."
They then keep the victim on video call for hours, sometimes days, terrifying them, showing fake CBI/ED/Supreme Court documents, and systematically draining their bank account.
Real-World Examples
- August 2024 - Ludhiana: S.P. Oswal, 82-year-old Padma Bhushan recipient and Chairman of Vardhman Group, was kept under "digital arrest" for two days by scammers posing as CBI officers. They staged a fake Supreme Court video hearing complete with someone impersonating the Chief Justice. He lost ₹7 crore.
- Bengaluru, 2025: A 74-year-old woman was defrauded of ₹24 crore by scammers posing as CBI and ED officials. Six people were arrested across Tamil Nadu, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi, and Bihar.
- Chandigarh: A 91-year-old retired Colonel lost ₹36 lakh over a WhatsApp call claiming his Aadhaar was linked to a Jet Airways financial investigation. His son, back from Australia, suspected foul play and stopped further transfers.
- Noida: A 60-year-old retired head constable lost ₹8.6 lakh to scammers promising to release his pension.
The National Cybercrime Reporting Portal received 7.4 lakh complaints of digital arrest scams in just the first four months of 2024. Digital arrest and online scams have escalated into a massive national crisis, with Indians losing approximately ₹22,845 crore to cybercriminals in 2024 alone. The crisis has only deepened, with losses from cyber fraud and digital arrests surging to nearly ₹3,000 crore by the end of 2025.
PM Modi addressed the nation about digital arrests in Mann Ki Baat on October 27, 2024. The Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the issue in October 2025 after a 73-year-old woman from Haryana was defrauded of over ₹1 crore using forged Supreme Court orders.
The One Rule Every Family Should Share With Older Adults
There is one simple principle that can prevent countless cyber frauds:
No legitimate government agency in India arrests, investigates, or conducts legal proceedings over a phone call or video call.
Agencies such as the police, courts, tax authorities, and investigative bodies do not demand money transfers to "verify identity," "avoid arrest," "close a case," or "prove innocence." Any caller making such demands is attempting to deceive you.
Fraudsters often create a false sense of urgency by claiming that a bank account is linked to criminal activity, a parcel contains illegal items, or an arrest warrant has been issued. Their objective is to induce panic and pressure victims into transferring money before they have time to verify the claims.
The safest response is simple: end the call.
HOW TO REPORT A CYBERCRIME (Step by step)
Option 1: Online - National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal
Website: cybercrime.gov.in
- Available 24/7
- You can also report anonymously
- Track your complaint later using "Report and Track" with your mobile number
Option 2: Helpline - Call or WhatsApp 1930
For financial fraud, call immediately. The faster you report, the higher the chance of freezing the money before it moves. The government's Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting System has already saved ₹5,489 crore across 17.82 lakh complaints.
Option 3: Offline - Visit your nearest police station
Carry written complaint, your contact details, any screenshots, transaction numbers, call logs. You can file an FIR even without visiting a dedicated cyber cell.
What to do in the first 30 minutes after an Online Fraud?
- Screenshot every message, call record, transaction detail
- Do not delete anything - even the fraudulent messages
- Immediately call your bank to report the transaction and request a freeze
- Call 1930
- File a complaint on cybercrime.gov.in