Retired employees most vulnerable to cyber frauds in Himachal Pradesh

Being less informant and tech-savvy as compared to their younger counterparts, senior citizens, especially retired employees, are becoming the main target of cyber fraudsters. Around 50 per cent victims of financial cyber frauds are senior citizens and middle-aged people in the state.

Scammers are using various tactics — including posing as police officers, who accuse the victim or their relative of a crime via video and audio calls, custom and tax officials; getting credit card issued in the victim’s name; transferring money by mistake, besides others — to dupe people of their money.

310 cases reported daily

• At present, on an average, around 310 cases of various cybercrime are being reported across the state daily.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), State CID Cybercrime, Mohit Chawla said most of the time fraudsters target retired employees as they are aware of the provident fund received by the victims. “This makes them an easy target for cyber criminals who lay various traps to dupe the retirees of their money,” he said.

“Senior citizens are also being targeted by the cyber fraudsters because the average time they spend on social media is more than those who are actively working. After retirement, people tend to spend more time on social media sites, which makes them vulnerable to cyber frauds,” he said.

Chawla advised the senior citizens to be more cautious while posting any personal information about themselves and their life events on social media. “The cyber criminals monitor the activities of the people and use information of events like retirement, purchase of assets and family members to dupe people. Therefore, one should refrain from sharing personal and financial information on social media,” he said.

With technological development, cyber fraud is becoming one of the fastest rising crimes in the state. At present, on an average, around 310 cases of various cybercrime are being reported across the state daily. Besides senior citizens, youngsters and women are also becoming victims of cybercrime.