Cybercrime quintupled during pandemic

Cybercrime increased by five times amid coronavirus pandemic in 2020 compared to the previous years (since the inception of the wing in October 2018), a report released by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cybercrime Wing reveals.

According to the data published by the FIA Cybercrime Wing, as many as 94,227 complaints of web-based crime including fraud, sexual harassment, stalking and access to unauthorized accounts were received in 2020 which was 5% higher than the previous year.

With 90 put behind bars, Faisalabad topped the list of cybercrime related arrests followed by Multan with 83 arrests. Faisalabad Cybercrime Wing Assistant Director Shoaib Haroon said that in the year 2020 a total of six cases of child pornography were reported in Faisalabad, out of which three cases were disposed of while six suspects were arrested after a detailed inquiry over the rest of the three cases.

“The arrested suspects were involved in spreading child pornography through WhatsApp,” he added. The assistant director stated that the Faisalabad Cybercrime Wing registered the highest number of cases, 88, after Lahore and investigated 90 suspects to solve the cases.

“The apprehended suspects were involved in social media harassment, online fraud as well as character assassination of women,” Shoaib pointed out. Cybercrime Wing has set up a complaint management unit in each reporting center and has handled a total of 100,000 complaints.

According to an FIA official, during special investigation into defamation of women cases, financial crimes, child pornography and high profile cases, the units successfully resolved 9,073 inquiries which are 50% more compared to 2019. He further stated that 24 cases related to child sexual abuse were filed and 26 accused were sent behind bars.

“Moreover, 214 complaints were received by the Interpol for international cooperation, out of which 191 applications were resolved,” the FIA official maintained, adding, “In this connection, 22 groups including 621 suspects were arrested and 20,000 electronic devices were confiscated from their possession.” In the cases related to Benazir Income Support Programme related fraud, 22 suspects were caught by the investigation agency and Rs4 million were recovered. Keeping in view the rising number of cybercrime cases, the agency now plans to recruit more staff to investigate complaints. “This way we would be able to resolve more complaints in a lesser time,” the source within the department told The Express Tribune.