Easy moolah, WFH set-up drive youth to cyber crime: Experts

When we imagine cyber cons, shady figures working in the shadows may come to mind. But in reality, most of them are youngsters, first-time offenders, holding degrees in IT/ AI, and not weapons, who are lured into making easy money by exploiting digital vulnerabilities and unsuspecting victims, reveal recent crackdowns by state law enforcement agencies on cyber frauds.

- Aakash Ghosh

In wake of the findings, Lucknow police commissioner Amrendra K Sengar gave a briefing on a recent cyber fraud case after the arrest of 16 accused, mostly youngsters, who were operating from a highrise apartment in Jankipuram. The police seized 1.77 crore from them.

Cases like these reveal how youth are lured into the con world for easy money.

“I was earning %20,000 a month working as a software support executive. One of my friends told me I could make that much money in a day by handling tech operations for a call centre. I didn’t ask too many questions at first....just thought about the moolah,” said a cyber crime accused, a B.Tech in computer science, revealing why he chose the darker route.