NEW DELHI: A career in IT and security did not save her from losing Rs 90 lakh to cybercrime. The professional, with 28 years of experience, was among 33 victims interviewed for an IIT Madras-led study that found technological familiarity could be overwhelmed by fear, urgency and psychological manipulation.Participants came from Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, New Delhi and Mumbai; the sample included 12 senior citizens. Participants included bankers, doctors, IT professionals and people with cybersecurity certifications. One reported a loss of Rs 1.12 crore even after recovering Rs 25 lakh.Published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, the qualitative study explores how victims were deceived, rather than measuring national risk. Its urban, professionally employed sample cannot establish that educated people are more vulnerable than others.Many participants were navigating illness in the family, retirement, job searches or workplace pressure. Fraudsters exploited these circumstances through investment promises, employment offers or threats to reputation. Some victims sought quick returns; others paid because they feared arrest or harm to relatives.“The way they act and talk, you cannot believe that they are not police officers—they play a psychological game with you,” the IT and security professional said in the study.In “digital arrest” scams, victims described being confined to rooms, monitored over video and coached to mislead bank managers. A plastic surgeon said: “They emotionally manipulated and trapped me: every half an hour I had to send them pics that I am alone”.In task-based scams, criminals initially paid victims for simple online assignments to build trust, then pressed them to invest larger sums and borrow from relatives or friends when funds dwindled.The researchers also found neglected device updates and missing security software among participants. Their accounts suggest psychological manipulation can work alongside technical weaknesses. Some victims subsequently abandoned online payments and returned to cash.
Share your thoughts in the comments
Be respectful · TOI community guidelines
The damage extended beyond bank balances. Victims reported sleeplessness, shame and strained family relationships. Institutional responses were uneven: some banks helped, while others blamed customers; some victims reported being sent between police stations.The researchers call for awareness campaigns explaining specific fraud tactics, stronger police expertise, faster bank detection and better coordination between banks, police and courts. “The response to cybercrime must move beyond blaming victims,” said IIT Madras adjunct faculty member P Kandaswamy in a statement.
