Cyber scams and trafficking: India’s Southeast Asian challenge
The BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers Retreat held earlier this month saw India’s External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, address the online scam issue with his counterparts from Myanmar and Thailand. He raised this concern again during the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum held in Laos on 27 July, calling for robust mechanisms to counter ongoing cybercrimes. He underscored the importance of collective effort to safeguard regional security and economic stability.
According to the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), from January to April 2024, India suffered significant financial losses due to cyber scams originating from Southeast Asia: approximately US$16.96 million from 62,587 investment scams, US$2.65 million from 20,043 trading scams, US$1.43 million from 4,600 digital arrest scams, and US$0.16 million from 1,725 dating scams. In 2023, over 100,000 investment scams and 10,000 related FIRs were reported on the national cybercrime portal, raising concerns about the rising cases.