What has led to increase in cybercrimes in Assam?

Guwahati: The National Crime Records Bureau’s recent revelation that Assam has the second-highest rate of cybercrimes in the country in 2021, has once again highlighted how Assam residents are increasingly vulnerable to online fraud.

According to the NCRB report, India has witnessed nearly 6 per cent increase in cybercrime cases in 2021 (52974 cases) as compared to the previous year (50035 cases). According to the report, Assam ranks second in the cybercrime rate (13.8) in India in 2021.
The NCRB data shows that one of the common motives for such crimes is fraud, apart from sexual exploitation, and extortion. In Assam, out of the total 4846 cybercrime cases in 2021, 704 cases were related to fraud, the report stated.

Barsha Deka, who works with a private company in Guwahati, recently lost Rs 20,500 of her hard-earned money after she fell prey to online phishing. On August 25, Barsha received an email from her company’s CEO, asking her to make a payment to a vendor’s bank account.