Cyber laws: How to file a cyber crime complaint in India?

Cyber crime is a criminal offence which is done with the help of internet technology and computer. Everybody has faced common cyber crimes like hacking, cyber stalking, denial of service (DoS), software piracy, credit card fraud and phishing, etc. With an increase in cyber crime, the need of the hour is to protect oneself from cyber crimes. So if someone is a victim of cyber crimes, they can file a cyber crime complaint.

Here in this article, we will discuss about cyber crime, and the process to file the cyber crime complaint in India.

Introduction

We are living in an era of information technology, crimes have reached another new level, and common people are falling prey to cyber crimes. To tackle the issue of cyber crime, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has incorporated cyber crime cells in many different cities. If there is a cyber crime in any part of India, it has global jurisdiction, and you can file a complaint in any cyber cell. Therefore it becomes imperative to understand cyber crimes and the process for registering a cyber crime in India.

Every 10 minutes, there is one cyber crime in India. In 2017 alone 4035, cyber crimes were registered in India.

What is Cyber Crime?

It is very difficult to define a cyber crime in a self-evolving technological era. In simple terms it is an illegal activity through a computer source or an illegal trespass into someone else’s computer or theft of any data.

Different types of cyber crimes in India

There are many different types of cyber crime in India. Here is a list of few common cyber crimes-

• Hacking– one of the most common, it happens when a person breaks into someone else’s computer virtually for accessing personal or sensitive information like bank details, etc.
• Cyber stalking– It is the second most common cyber crime in India, with women being the targets. It is an online harassment by sending obscene messages.
• Identity Theft– This can happen when someone gets access to your personal data. It is done for stealing funds, tax fraud, and much more. They use the name for planning some criminal activities by simply hacking the account and finding crucial personal data.
• Cyber Bullying– When someone uses the internet, mobile phone, or any social networking site to harass, defame, or intimidate a person, then it is called cyber bullying.
• Cyber Terrorism– Any person who is threatening someone for extortion or anything else then it is called cyber terrorism.
• DOS Attacks– These attacks make online internet services unavailable. They put the network down by increasing the traffic.
• Online Scams– They are available in many different forms, like spam emails and ads. It offers an unrealistic sum of money, but when you click on these, it causes malware which further interferes with the system.
• Child pornography– It is a criminal offence to involve a child in pornography.
• Phishing, software piracy, and DOS are some of the common cyber crimes.

There are roughly 500 million users of the internet in India, the consequence of this digital growth has resulted in data theft complaints, online cheating, financial frauds, and more. One should know how to address these issues. Therefore we will now discuss the steps to file an online complaint.

Step by Step Process for filing a Cyber Crime Complaint

Step 1

The first step for initiating a cyber crime complaint is to register a written complaint. It should be addressed to the head of the Cyber crime investigation cell mentioning all the key details like name, address, and contact number.

Step 2

For registering a cyber crime complaint, you need to attach a list of documents with the complaint supporting the factual circumstances of the complaint.

Step 3

If the complainant does not have access to any cyber crime cell, then he or she can file a first information report at the local police station. If they do not accept the complaint, he can further approach the Commissioner or Judicial Magistrate.

Note:

The Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 under section 154 makes it mandatory for a police officer to record any information or complaint of an offence irrespective of the jurisdiction of the crime. A police officer will record a Zero FIR in case it is out of the jurisdiction of the police officers. The officers have to forward that to the police station under the jurisdiction of the offence committed. A Zero FIR helps the victim get immediate attention. 

The Indian Penal Code classifies most of the cyber crimes as cognizable offences. The police officers do not require to issue a warrant for arrest or investigation.

The Information Technology Act 2000, under section 80 states that any police officer who is not below the rank of deputy superintendent of police or any other officer of Central or State government can enter a public place and search and arrest without warrant any person involved in any cyber crime under this act.

Registering online cyber crime complaint in Delhi

The Ministry of Home Affairs has launched a centralised online cyber crime registration portal. It eliminates the need to visit police stations in case of cyber crime. This portal specifically caters to complaints pertaining to online child pornography, sexual abuse, or sexually explicit content like rape etc. If someone files a complaint here, the police authority of the respective state where the crime was committed deals with this.

The cyber crime cell of Delhi Police has come up with its own website for cyber crime and online cyber crime complaints. Here is the official link of the website.

Documents for cyber crime complaint

When you are facing a cyber crime against yourself, it is difficult to cope up with the procedural requirements. Most victims have no clue about what documents are required for filing a complaint. Here ‘s is a document checklist for all the complaints-

For social media cyber crimes

• Register a complaint in the platform where the offence was committed.
• You should make sure you report these activities as soon as possible. This enables the platform to block these activities at the earliest.
• The top social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter Instagram have their own redressal mechanism.

Email-based cyber complaints

• Brief
• Hard and soft copy of the suspected email with complete header
• Ensure that the soft copy is submitted in a CD-R.

Mobile application based cyber complaints

• Screenshot of the alleged app and the location from where the app was downloaded.
• Bank statements of the victim
• Soft copies of the documents.

Business email-based cyber complaints

• A brief note about the offence
• Name, location, bank name and account number of the complainant
• Recipient’s name along with bank account number and location
• Date and the total amount of transaction
• SWIFT number.

Data theft cyber complaints

• A copy of the stolen data along with copyright certificate
• Details of the suspected employee (his letter of appointment, non-disclosure agreement, assigned duties list, and list of clients)
• Proof of data theft
• List of device used by accused during the term of service

Cyber complaints about malware

• Details like email ID, phone number, and evidence showcasing means of communication.
• If it is sent through an attachment in email, then a screenshot of the email along with the header.

For internet banking complaints

• Bank statements of the last six months
• Copy of the SMS of suspected transactions
• Copy of ID and address proof of the victim.

Online cheating cyber complaints

• Print out of the alleged email along with a header
• Bank statement
• Details of the suspected transaction
• Soft copies of all the documents.

Cyber crime penalties

Following are some of the penalties under cyber law in India-

5 Tips for prevention of cyber crime

• People should use a fully secure system. Download security services against malware.
• One should also have strong and different passwords for all websites. It is also advisable to keep changing the passwords at regular intervals.
• Manage your social media settings as most of the thefts happen through them.
• Keep your software updated.
• Strengthen your private network.

Conclusion

Since the inception of the internet, cyber crimes are threatening the cyber security system. This is manifested in the form of hacking, cyber fraud, and cyber stalking, etc. India has a set of different laws to deal with cyber crime, but still, there is a very less conviction rate. People should not ignore cyber crimes and report it instantly, as it will deter criminals and secure the online platform. If you experience any kind of cyber crime related problems, then file a cyber crime complaint at an appropriate time.

For more information on cyber crime and assistance in filing a cyber complaint, contact us here at LawyerINC.