STRONGER POLICING NEEDED TO KEEP DIGITAL HIGHWAYS SECURE

AS consumers of information and communication, most of us are victims of a daily barrage of pesky telemarketers.

- GURBIR SINGH

They think nothing of using our mobile phones as free soliciting devices. Then there are the criminals who use voice calls, and messaging for robbing us of our hard-earned money. Considering the scale of the problem, the government is just not doing enough.

The worst offenders using telemarketers are banks, insurance companies and builders. As for criminal fraudsters, the preferred entry line keeps changing - from facilitating an MSME loan for a fee, to posing as a courier company threatening to report a non-existent package of drugs.

The malaise has reached gargantuan proportions. India unfortunately has become one of the largest phone-based phishing markets because of the high use and low tariffs of mobile networks. There are various estimates. One claims there are more than 120-150 million phishing messages sent every month, and one of 12 users is entrapped. Only one-tenth of the victims report the crime, and even less get their money back.

'Misinformation' could pose a greater risk to the country than infectious diseases, illicit economic activity and labour shortages, a 'Global Risk Report' from the World Economic Forum warned in January this year. Artificial intelligence (AI)-driven 'disinformation' could destabilize governments, and the targeted impact during the election process could lead to erosion of democracy and violence, the report said.

New government move