India is ranked tenth in the world for cybercrime

According to a recent report, advance fee payment frauds rank highest in cybercrime in India and in global ranking India comes at number ten. International researchers conducted a study in almost 100 nations for their "World Cybercrime Index," which identified hotspots for different types of cybercrimes. Russia topped the list, followed by Ukraine, China, the US, Nigeria, and Romania. North Korea was at the seventh position, while the UK and Brazil were in the eighth and ninth positions, respectively, according to the research published in the journal PLoS ONE.

The major categories that the researchers identified were - technical products and services such as malware and compromising systems; attacks and extortion including ransomware; data and identity theft including hacking, compromising accounts and credit cards; scams such as advance fee fraud; and cashing out or money laundering involving illegitimate virtual currency.

Invites to respond to the survey were sent out from March to October 2021. The team received 92 complete survey responses. The top six countries appeared among the top ten countries under each cybercrime category, the researchers found. They further found that countries that are cybercrime hubs "specialise" in particular categories.

"Russia and Ukraine are highly technical cybercrime hubs, whereas Nigerian cybercriminals are engaged in less technical forms of cybercrime," the authors wrote in the study. Among the top ranking countries, while some may "specialise" in cybercrime types with middling technical complexity - such as those involved in data and identity theft - others may "specialise" in both high-tech and low-tech crimes, they said.

India was found to "specialise" in scams. Further, while Romania and the US were found to "specialise" in both high-tech and low-tech crimes, India was found to be a "balanced hub", "specialising" in mid-tech crimes. "In short, each country has a distinct profile, indicating a unique local dimension," the authors wrote.

The experts contacted by the researchers were professionals engaged in cybercrime intelligence, investigation and attribution for at least five years, were "not actively involved in tracking offenders" and had an "excellent" reputation among peers.