Why Cyber Criminals Hunting India's Senior Citizens?

If the youth is the potential of the present and creator of the future, then senior citizens in India are the treasure of experience for the country who play a vital role in shaping and leading the development mission. The current era of the digital world asks much from them to become, the generation which always worked on paper and through paper is transformed into digital functioning that often turned the nightmare for the. 

As a matter of fact, India has the largest population and also the world’s second-largest older adult population, which is projected to grow to 179 million in 2031 and then 327 million in 2050, which also implies that a large population of India is exposed to the internet. Though there is no data available from any government organisation. However, according to Cooper's AAM Brief report, the most common crime against older people, both country-wide and in Mumbai, in 2016 was that of cheating and fraud registered under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (Risbud, 2016). This reflects the general understanding in criminological studies that older people are particularly vulnerable to online fraud.

The older citizen is standing at the threshold where they are striving hard to adopt the digital culture and also resisting due to the financial and digital crime that happened against them. 

Amit Relan, Co-founder and CEO, mFilterIt, said, “With bank accounts connected to smartphones, committing cyber fraud has become rampant more than ever. As per reports, FY23 saw cyber frauds in access of Rs 2500 crore. The most vulnerable to such incidents are the elderly people. Fraudsters circulate a number of messages claiming the blocking of accounts, some cash rewards, offers etc. to lure them. The senior population, being not aware of such activities, believes the messages and takes the action written on the messages like clicking the link or sharing OTPs."

Relan added that cybercriminals ploy the vulnerability and trust of senior citizens to commit these crimes. To curb this crime, it is the duty of the younger generation in the family to make people aware of the activities happening.

As per the data of the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), Mumbai stands at first place in terms of cybercrime, The data collected by Mumbai police revealed that there is a 49 per cent rise in cybercrime in the city, the number of cyber crimes registered by Mumbai police in 2022 stood at 4,286 as against 2,883 such offences in 2021 and among all these cases senior citizen are the main victim. 

Highlighting the main cause behind this phenomenon, Praveen Yeleswarapu, Head of Product Marketing and Strategy, BluSapphire Cyber Systems said, “Limited digital literacy among seniors makes it challenging for them to fully comprehend the constantly evolving cybersecurity practices and the numerous risks and threats that exist online.”

These crime cases are not only breaking them financially but also drawing a line between senior citizens and digital platforms, which will further hold them back to use them efficiently. 

Vaibhav Srivastava, Senior Information Security Analyst, Innefu India said, “Educate senior citizens about cyber fraud. This can be done through public awareness campaigns, educational materials, and one-on-one counselling. Encourage senior citizens to use strong passwords and to change them regularly. They should also avoid clicking on links in emails or opening attachments from unknown senders.”

Srivastava also mentioned that reminds senior citizens never to give out personal information over the phone or online unless they are sure of the identity of the person they speak to, Ask them to Install security software on their computers and smartphones and keep it current.

As most of these cases are related to money, money and finances can play a significant role in ensuring security for old people. Sundeep Rana, Co-founder, NetSetGo Media asserted, “Always ask banking organisations how you can access your money the easiest online and offline when you open new accounts with them. So that you know what to expect, ask them about their safety precautions and protections. Even if you don't require access, make sure you familiarise yourself with their virtual products as soon as possible with a representative from the institution or someone you can trust. You can use this to stop fraud in the future.”

Digital platforms are emerging as the main stage where all kinds of activities are being performed these days, if one of the largest yet most important chunks of our population of senior citizen would not participate in these activities, the inactivity would influence the pace and quality of the country’s development objective.