Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras have conducted a study indicating that victims of financial cybercrime in India are not merely lacking in digital knowledge or experience; in fact, many are well-educated professionals.
Individuals in various fields, including information technology, banking, healthcare, finance, and management, as well as public sector employees and those with cybersecurity credentials, have been found to be susceptible to cyber fraud.
The study highlights that while possessing high digital literacy does not offer complete immunity against financial cybercrime, it uncovers a psychological dimension related to online scams.
It was observed that cybercriminals often target individuals during moments of vulnerability, such as during times of stress or significant life changes, including family illness, retirement, job hunting, or workplace challenges. These fraudsters manipulate their victims’ emotional, financial, and reputational anxieties to create a sense of urgency that clouds their judgment, a phenomenon described by the researchers as “engineered brain freeze” or “mind arrest.”
Participants reported financial losses ranging from several thousand rupees to amounts exceeding Rs 1 crore, along with a myriad of negative consequences such as feelings of shame, insomnia, depression, and a breakdown of trust within their families.
The research findings stem from semi-structured interviews conducted with 33 victims of financial cybercrime, which included 22 men, 11 women, and 12 senior citizens from major metropolitan areas like Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, New Delhi, and Mumbai. The interviews were held in English, Hindi, and Tamil, and were analyzed using the Gioia methodology.
The research team was led by Kandaswamy, a retired IPS officer, and Nandan Sudarsanam from IIT Madras, collaborating with Akanksha Jaiswal, an Associate Professor at The University of Western Australia, Chennai Campus, and Ameeta Fernando from the Loyola Institute of Business Administration, Chennai. The study also benefited from the support of the Wadhwani School of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at IIT Madras.
Additionally, the researchers detailed various tactics employed by fraudsters in India, which include threats related to Aadhaar and UPI-based transactions, fraudulent investment platforms masquerading as SEBI-registered entities, and scams involving digital arrests.
As a note, the researchers clarified that this study is qualitative and limited to metropolitan contexts, primarily reflecting the experiences of victims who were willing to share their stories.
