Frequently Asked Questions

The term “cyber-crime” is not defined under the Information Technology Act, 2000. In simple terms cyber crime would be “unlawful acts wherein the computer is either a tool or a target or both”. It is also known as computer crime, e-crime and electronic crime.
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Cyber crimes can be classified into 3 major categories such as
a) Crime against government such as cyber terrorism.
b) Crime against persons such as cyber pornography, cyber stalking, cyber defamation
c) Crime against property such as online gambling, intellectual property infringement, phishing, credit card frauds.
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Phishing is the criminal and fraudulent act of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, password and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity or person in an electronic communication.
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The word I.P stands for Internet Protocol Address. Every machine that is on the Internet has a unique IP number, consisting of four parts separated by dots, e.g. 152.14.1.6. The IP address is just like any telephone number which identifies a particular computer on the Internet.
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The dominant purpose of the domain name is simply to provide an easy method for remembering another’s electronic IP address. Domain names are the alphabetic names used to refer to computers on the Internet. A web site address, including a suffix such as .com, .org, .gov or .edu comprises a domain name. 
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One can register a criminal case in cyber or any nearby police station or call 1930 cyber helpline number or file a complaint at www.cybercrime.gov.in.
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There are two options for reporting cybercrimes on the portal:
1. Report Crime related to Women/ Child – Under this section, you can report complaints pertaining to online Child Pornography (CP), Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) or sexually explicit content such as Rape/Gang Rape (CP/RGR) content.
2. Report Other Cybercrimes – Under this option, you can report complaints pertaining to cybercrimes such as mobile crimes, online and social media crimes, online financial frauds, ransomware, hacking, cryptocurrency crimes and online cyber trafficking.
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It is important to keep any evidence you may have related to your complaint. Evidence may include :-
Credit card receipt
Bank statement
Envelope (if received a letter or item through mail or courier)
Brochure/Pamphlet
Online money transfer receipt
Copy of email
URL of webpage
Chat transcripts
Suspect mobile number screenshot
Videos
Images
Any other kind of document
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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.
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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.
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Hacking is the act of identifying and then exploiting weaknesses in a smartphone or computer system or network, usually to gain unauthorized access to personal or organizational data. Ethical hacking with permission and without malicious intent is not a crime, all other types of hacking is a grave cybercrime under section 43, 66, 66A, 66B and 43A of the IT Act and under section 378 of Indian Penal Code.
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Cyber crime can involve criminal activities that are traditional in nature, such as theft, fraud, forgery, defamation and mischief, all of which are subject to the Indian Penal Code. The abuse of computers has also given birth to a gamut of new age crimes that are addressed by the Information Technology Act, 2000. 
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Yes, Various kinds of harassment can and does occur in cyberspace, or through the use of cyberspace. Harassment can be sexual, racial, religious, or other. Persons perpetuating such harassment are also guilty of Cybercrime.
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A computer virus is a program or piece of code designed to damage your computer by corrupting system files, wasting resources, destroying data or otherwise being a nuisance. 
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Malware, or malicious software, is a blanket term for any kind of computer software with malicious intent. 
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It is a type of malware, which pretends to be harmless legitimate software, or comes embedded in it, in order to trick the user and open up the gates for other malware to infect a PC.
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It is a kind of malware designed to spy on users, save their passwords, credit card details, other personal data and online behavior patterns, and send them off to whoever programmed it. example is keylogger.
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It is a type of malware which hijacks files (and sometimes an entire hard drive), encrypts(makes it non readable) them, and demands money from its victim in exchange for a decryption(to make it readable again) key.
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It is a kind of malware, that floods victims with unwanted ads, and opens up vulnerable security spots for other malware to wiggle its way in.
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Yes, you may file a complaint related to all types of cyber crime on the portal.
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Yes, you can register a complaint.
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Cyber Terrorism denotes unlawful attacks and threats of attack against computers, network and information stored therein to intimidate or coerce a government or its people for propagating hidden political or unlawful social and religious motives. Cyberterrorism has a stringent punishment of imprisonment of ten years or life imprisonment as per the IT Act,2000.
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Money laundering is the illegal process of making large amounts of money generated by criminal activity, such as drug trafficking or terrorist funding, appear to have come from a legitimate source. 
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Cyberstalking, which is simply an extension of the physical form of stalking, is where the electronic mediums such as the Internet are used to pursue, harass or contact another in an unsolicited fashion.
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When negligible amounts are removed and accumulated in to something larger. This attack is used for the commission of financial crimes. The key here is to make the alteration so insignificant that in a single case it would go completely unnoticed.
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