All cybercrimes not recorded: Ahmed Javed

Mumbai’s top cop Ahmed Javed expressed the view that instances of cybercrime are higher than those registered with the police because of lack of awareness among the public. Mr Javed was speaking at an interactive meeting organised by the Indian Merchants’ Chamber on “Safety of citizens of Mumbai and cyber safety” with participation from IMC President Dilip Piramal and Cyber Guru Vijay Mukhi.

“Cybercrime is increasing in the city but it is not registered all the time. People are ignoring registering it,” said the Mumbai police commissioner. Alerting the audience as to what was happening in the cyber world, Mr Javed cited instances which could happen to both educated and uneducated people. “Most people ignore when suddenly, a small amount of money goes missing from someone’s account. They ignore because the amount is not big but in doing so, they encourage criminals to repeat such offences,” said Mr Javed.

“We Indians are not security conscious, be it related to finance or terrorism. Hence, our efforts are focused on making people aware and sensitising them to the situation. Certain things need to be taught. One is traffic and civic sense, the other is to be alert. Financial cybercrime is not the only kind. Identity theft is not unheard of and these dangers are growing due to ease of access to others’ photographs. Girls need to be very careful because once it is out there in the open, nothing can be done. Cases of blackmail come from this. An alert parent goes a long way,” he warned.

“Today, the threats we face from all activities in the cyber world including terrorism are very real and present in abundance. Precautions are fairly commonsensical. Keep looking at your electronic and physical security systems and ensure they are continuously upgraded. Technology moves very fast so things become redundant very quickly. We must have a strong security system in place to safeguard our personal and business life,” said Mr Javed