In the fourth part of our series on social media hacking and identity theft cases, mid-day interviewed Joint Commissioner of Crime, Lakhmi Gautam, who also heads the cyber department of the Mumbai Police. In the interview, he emphasised the importance of precautionary measures and the awareness efforts undertaken by Mumbai Police’s cyber cell. According to him, due diligence and awareness are key to safeguarding oneself from cyber fraud and social media hacking. Here are some excerpts from the interview.

What measures are the police implementing to combat the increasing incidents of social media hacking in the city?
To combat increasing incidents of social media hacking, we (Mumbai police) have organised seminars/workshops, and awareness programs at schools, colleges, corporate offices, etc to educate the public about ongoing cybercrime frauds such as investment fraud, part-time job fraud, dating app/matrimonial fraud, sextortion, FedEx courier fraud, etc. Under the Mumbai Safe City Project, the police have acquired different types of cyber forensic tools, including social media investigation tools. We are in the process of training Cyber Commandos for the prevention and detection of cybercrime cases. A social media lab has been established by the Mumbai police to track and provide analysis, identify behavioural patterns, and to generate alerts in real-time on social media platforms.