India’s new cybercrime reality — Why most attacks no longer target systems, but people

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a fresh set of advisories warning citizens about a rise in cyber frauds that are causing real financial damage and widespread misuse of everyday digital platforms. These are not abstract risks. They are based on patterns emerging from complaints filed on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal.

And the pattern is clear.

Many of today’s frauds don’t rely on hacking systems or exploiting software weaknesses. They rely on people doing what systems are designed to allow, just nudged in the wrong direction, at the wrong moment.

The advisories flag three broad scam categories that are becoming increasingly common. Misuse of matrimonial and dating platforms for investment and cryptocurrency frauds. USSD-based call forwarding scams carried out through delivery or courier agent impersonation. And WhatsApp Web account renting scams promoted through social media ...