How to seek legal recourse for delayed or inadequate cyber complaint handling by authorities

Cyber Crime

Today, as we move towards a global economy, the world is more interconnected than it ever has been. New technologies and innovations also bring home with us novel threats, cybercrimes are on the rise as the internet grows more accessible. These leave a huge impact on the socio-economic scenario of the country. 

High-end cybercrime organisations are continuously evolving their ‘business model’; they can drain a life’s worth of savings empty within minutes. The best solution is increasing awareness and taking precautions, however, understanding the course of action to be taken in case one falls victim to it is essential.

Therefore, this article will walk you through all necessary information for making a complaint against such crime with the help of cybercrime lawyers in India and steps to taken in case your complaint is not entertained.

Types of Cyber Crime

While there are multiple cyber attacks, the most common is phishing which is using spam mails and messages to gain unauthorized access to the system of the victim. This often transcends to ransomware, which is encrypting data and folders for ransom. Similarly, malware is distributing malicious software to infect and corrupt the computer.

Younger generations may fall into the trap of cyber-bullying and cyber-stalking.

There are many more cybercrimes which are classified below based-on target:

1. Individual Cyber Crimes:

These crimes targets individuals. It includes phishing, spoofing, spam, cyberbullying, cyberstalking, extortion online, hacking and cracking in cyber law etc.

2. Organisation Cyber Crimes:

The main target here is organizations. Usually, this type of crime is done by teams of criminals including data breaches, malware attacks, extortion online, ransomware and denial of service attacks, which means creating excessive traffic on a website to disrupt its functioning.

3. Property Cybercrimes:

This type targets property like credit cards or even intellectual property rights such identitity theft, software piracy.

4. Society Cybercrimes:

This is the most dangerous form of cybercrime as it includes cyber-terrorism include denial of service attacks, hacking, etc.

Cyber Complaint

Filing a complaint against crime is the first step to take action. This is essential to report a cybercrime to get relief at the earliest. This contains summary of the complaint with personal details of the complainant to urge further investigation. Usually, it is addressed to Head of the cyber cell where it is to be filed.

According to the IT Act, 2000 cybercrimes have global jurisdiction, which means any and every cyber cell of India can investigate into the complaint without the crime actually being done within its local limits.

Understanding cyber laws can be complex. You can consult a lawyer to know more about your rights. Cybersecurity legal services can guide you through the online and offline complaint mechanism for cyber cases.

Procedure to file a Cyber Complaint

Through Cyber Cell

A written complaint in the form of letter must be addressed to the head of the cyber cell. It must necessarily contain the name, address, email id and phone number of the complainant. Depending on the nature of crime, certain documents may also be required to be attached as substantial proof of the claim.

Through FIR

Since most, cybercrimes are cognizable in nature, if there are no cyber-cells accessible then an FIR can be filed at the local police station under BNSS, 2023 Section 173.

Through Online Portal

To register the complaint online, follow the steps below:

1. Visit the site: https://cybercrime.gov.in/ and click on ‘Register a complaint’ available on the top left.
2. Choose the relevant the sub-category: women/child related crime, financial fraud or other cybercrime. (Usually, other cybercrime)
3. Accept all the terms and conditions.
4. Go through all the information needed to file complaint, making sure they are at hand.
5. Login/Signup to your citizen login with OTP an captcha
6. In the next page, fill the form, review it, and submit it.
7. Next put the incidental details, i.e., supporting evidence, review and submit.
8. Lastly, add the details of suspected individual if any.
9. Once all details are added, verify, and submit your complaint.

Taking legal advice in such cases can be a smart move to avoid unnecessary delay. Consult a legal professional, they can guide you throughout your case and help you know your rights.

Contents of Complaint

An application letter needs to be made addressed to the head of cyber cell or the police station, detailing the sequence of events of the offence. The complaint must also contain personal details including name, emailed, phone number and address of the complainant.

Documents Required

For all cases:

• Details of incident including
• Date and time of incident
• Soft copy of national identification (Aadhar card, PAN card, Passport, etc)

In case of financial fraud, also:

• Name of the Bank/ Wallet/Merchant
• 12-digit Transaction id/UTR No.
• Date of transaction
• Fraud amount
• Soft copy of all the relevant evidence

For Net Banking/ATM Complaints:

• A print out of the alleged emails with its complete header as received by the original receiver (and forwarded emails should be avoided),
• Victim’s bank statement,
• Details of the suspected transactions,
• Soft copies of all the aforesaid documents in case of online filing.

For Bitcoin Based Complaints:

• A written brief about the offense,
• The address of the bitcoin,
• The amount of bitcoin in question,
• The address from/to whom the purchase/sale of the bitcoins has been done.

For Data Theft Complaints:

• A copy of the stolen data and brief,
• The copyright certificate of the allegedly stolen data,
• Details of the suspected employee/(s),

For Social Media Based Complaints:

• A copy or screenshot of the alleged profile and/or the content or a screenshot of the URL of the alleged content,
• Hard and soft copies of the alleged content (ensure that the soft copy is provided in a CD-R form).

For Email Based Complaints:

• A written complaint explaining the complete incidence and offence,
• Copy of the alleged Email taken from the original receiver. Copy of the forwarded email should be avoided.
• Full Header of the alleged Email.
• Copy of email and header should be in both hard & soft forms (in CD-R only).

For Mobile App-Based Complaints:

• A screenshot of the alleged app,
• The location from where it was downloaded,
• The victim’s bank statements in case any transactions were made after/before/during the incident,
• Soft copies of all the above-mentioned documents.

How to file a complaint against Cyber Bullying

Since social media is said to be the fifth pillar of democracy, it has become almost indispensable from our mornings. The younger generation are also not shielded from the same effect of trending songs and dances.

However, things take a turn for the worse when the platforms are used to inculcate hate and promote violence. Cyber-bullying is a major concern where people write and spread nasty humiliating content about the victim causing deteriorated mental health.

To combat this:

• Firstly, report the post on the social media site.
• Next, lodge a cyber complaint in your nearest cyber cell or file an FIR with your local police station.

They will effectively investigate in the matter and provide a relief, further a legal counsel can be contacted for help.

If you are not able to understand how to complaint in cyber cases, take advice of a cyber-lawyer.

Legal Recourse for Delayed or Inadequate Cyber Complaint Handling By Authorities

Under Section 173 (4) of BNSS, 2023, if the officer-in-charge of the local police station is refusing to lodge complaint or not investigating into it, then the aggrieved can write a letter by post to the superintendent of the police station, enumerating the facts in summary.

The superintendent may then either by himself or alternatively by a subordinate police officer, investigate the case.

Secondly, if the cyber cell refuses to lodge complaint or no action by the superintendent of police is taken then the complainant can under Section 173 (4) of BNSS direct representation to the Judicial Magistrate stating that the complaint has not been accepted. 

Consequence of Cyber Crime

Since, these crimes are multi-faceted they are immensely detrimental to the financial and mental health of the victims. The victims of cyber sexual offences often face character-assassination and harassment in real world too, affecting their quality of life.

Cybercrime done against the company causes huge revenue losses to the company especially when the company’s sensitive data or information is compromised. The reputation of an organization can also go haywire when its information is hacked.

In most cases, where hacking occurs with bank accounts or credit/debit cards, often customers lose trust in the organization.

Cyber offences are dealt with in IT Act as well as BNS, 2023 with imprisonment up to 7 years and fine up to 10 lakhs. However, the best way to discourage such scam is extreme precautionary measures such as strong passwords, being cautious unwanted messages and emails and not sharing bank details without proper authorization.

Critical Analysis

While enhanced cyber security measures are duly taken one is still susceptible to cyber-attacks as they are so many potential threats. These attacks can create huge losses for businesses and company this has parallelly caused a separate anti-malware industry which can protect your devices. While recourse is available, additional security measures must be taken to protect one-self from such losses.

Conclusion

While the cyber-crimes are tricky to navigate through, victims can be assured that their complaint will be investigated and dealt with diligently by tracking the status of the complaint. In case where there is dissatisfaction in action taken, the complaint can be made to the superintendent and later the judicial magistrate. 

This recourse is necessary to ensure that the offence does not remain a continuing one.

FAQs

Where can I report cyber crime in India?

You can report a cyber crime by

1. filing a complaint in nearest/any Cyber cell,
2. lodging an FIR in a police station.
3. filing a complaint a thttps://cyber crime.gov.in/Accept.aspx.

How do I report cyber crime online?

You can report a cyber crime at the online portal https://cyber crime.gov.in/Accept.aspx, initiated by the Government of India.

Apart from the official government portal, are there any alternative ways to remove objectionable content from social media websites?

Yes, most of the social media website like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram etc. have the option of reporting or flagging the objectionable contents. The social media platforms may take appropriate action based on the contents reported to them as per their content policy.

What happens once I report a complaint?

The complaints reported on the portal shall be handled by the concerned State/UT police authorities based on your selection of State/ UT while reporting the complaint.

Will I be informed that my complaint has been submitted successfully?

Yes, once your complaint is submitted, you will receive a confirmation message in the portal itself. In case, you have filed a complaint through “Report and Track” option or “Report Other Cybercrime” section available on the portal, you will receive a SMS and an e-mail with a complaint reference number on your registered mobile number and e-mail id.