3 months ago
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Of late, the sermon implicit cybercrime has been dominated by “digital arrest” cases, from the Prime Minister of the state to the Supreme Court of India, speaking astir it. But adjacent successful 2025, the largest fig of cybercrime cases registered successful Karnataka were implicit “investment frauds”.
While the State reported 346 integer arrests successful 2025, it reported a full of 6156 concern frauds. Of them, 3487 cases were wherever fraudsters made victims put successful stocks and shares done fake apps, and successful 2669 cases, victims were lured done societal media and instant messaging apps offering part-time jobs, tasks to beryllium done online, and reviews of products for money, arsenic information presented by the Home Minister successful the precocious concluded Karnataka Legislature Session showed. Online wealth transfers, OTP frauds, and recognition paper frauds made up a bulk of different cases booked successful the State.
Below the radar
A elder constabulary authoritative said that arsenic the information constitution and different stakeholders effort to amended the nationalist of the ever-changing modus operandi deployed by cyber fraudsters, the aged ones commencement going beneath the radar. That doesn’t mean that radical person go alert of these modus operandi and cases stop.
For instance, harassment by indebtedness apps was erstwhile each over. Based connected respective FIRs registered by the Central Crime Branch, Bengaluru City Police, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) raided aggregate firms linked to China moving these indebtedness apps based retired of Bengaluru and respective different metro cities of the state successful 2023. After this , respective of these indebtedness apps were taken down from app stores arsenic well. However, information shows the authorities has recorded 210 cases of harassment by indebtedness apps successful 2025.
Investment frauds
What the constabulary word concern fraud is 1 of the oldest forms of cyberfraud.
There are thousands of societal media posts, personalised messages sent done instant messaging apps offering part-time jobs, giving tasks to beryllium performed online, similar liking YouTube and Facebook posts, reviewing products online, for a hefty pay. Once a idiosyncratic is tempted by the wealth and clicks connected the link, spot is built by initially paying retired tiny sums of wealth for menial tasks. Then the fraudster tries to lure the unfortunate with the committedness of much returns if they put with them. Soon, it is simply a downward spiral. What starts arsenic a occupation fraud morphs into an concern fraud. A elder authoritative said, for this reason, it was often pugnacious to categorise cybercrimes arsenic per modus operandi.
In different modus operandi, victims are lured into groups connected instant messaging apps wherever escaped banal recommendations are provided. Then they are asked to put successful stocks done their ain app. The app continues to amusement hefty profit, and the occupation kicks successful erstwhile the unfortunate tries to retreat the money. The app doesn’t fto you retreat the money, and fraudsters question much wealth arsenic withdrawal fee.
A elder authoritative said that cyber fraudsters capitalise connected the people’s lure for casual money. “There is nary escaped lunch. There is nary mode anyone tin springiness higher returns than is regularly imaginable successful the market. That is the archetypal reddish flag. People should desist from interacting with chartless entities online,” helium said.
