To check cyber crimes, Gurugram Police keep tab on customer information leakage

The increase in cases of cyber crimes in the Millennium City has compelled the Cyber Crime branch of Gurugram Police to keep a tab on places where customer information can be easily accessed by cyber thieves.

The teams of Cyber Crime branch are in touch with banks, hotels, petrol pumps and call centres in the city to prevent leak of vital customer data, which can be exploited by criminals.

Sources in the Cyber Crime team revealed that they have also asked such establishments to be watchful of their employees, who may share the customer information.

There were 2,000 cases of cyber crimes registered last year. In February this year itself, there have been more than 20 cases of cyber crimes registered at the Cyber Crime branch.

Thefts through credit/debit card and data thefts are the most common complaints that are received by the cyber crime team.

Sources in Gurugram Police mention that most of the criminals, who commit major cyber crimes, are not from Gurugram.

They, therefore, rely on the employees of the above-mentioned establishments for customer information, which is provided to them by employees either intentionally or through carelessness.

Officials in the Cyber Brime branch highlighted that contractual employees, new employees and insurance agents are the most common group of employees that are used by criminals to gain access to customer information.

The officials also highlighted that most of the people also earn money selling information of residents living in city condominiums.

This information is then used by the criminals to try to dupe the residents.

A senior Gurugram Police official said: "In today's times, cloning of credit/debit cards is not that difficult. You can easily get fake credit cards and debit cards in the market. The vital part is to get customer information, which can then be exploited further. Most of the criminals who commit cyber crimes know where exactly can they access customer information.

"They, therefore, keep track of petrol pumps, hotels, banks and call centres in the city. The vital details of the customer gets leaked to the criminals deliberately or due to carelessness on the part of the employees," the official from Gurugram Police.

"Often the employees who share information with the criminals intentionally feel that they are not directly involved in crime. However, if caught, they are tried as equal partners in the crime and charged under appropriate criminal sections," added the official.