Updated: 11-04-2025 at 3:30 PM
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As the world is evolving and climbing the never-ending stairs of success, we now have created a man-made world. i.e. the cyber or digital world. Our lives have become much easier and more convenient as most things can be easily done from the comfort of our homes without the need to step out. But just like a coin has two sides, the cyber world has two sides as well and the other side is the prevalence of cyber crimes, more specifically cyber scams.
Fraudsters with the help of cyber scams trick people into giving out their personal or sensitive information that the fraudster later uses for personal gain. The number of cyber scams has been increasing with time and till this year, the people of India have lost around 2054 crore rupees to fraudsters. Hence, it is high time to protect oneself from cyber scams and one of the ways of doing so is investing in cyber insurance.
Type of Insurance | Cyber Insurance |
---|---|
Meaning | An insurance policy that provides financial coverage in case someone becomes a victim of cyber scams |
Purpose | To protect people from scams in the cyber world |
Coverage | Covers a wide variety of cyber scams like phishing, online fraud, vishing, etc. |
Who can get it? | Individuals |
Premium Amount | Ranges from 1 lakh to 1 crore |
Cyber Insurance is an insurance policy that serves as a protective and preventive measure against cyber scams. It helps both individuals and business entities to protect themselves from the vulnerabilities of the cyber world. Cyber insurance covers various costs and services like compensation fees and restoration of reputation, in case one may falls prey to cyber scams.
A cyber scam is a criminal activity wherein fraudsters trick people into sharing their personal and sensitive information like OTPs, passwords, banking information, etc. over the internet that they later use for personal gain. Cyber scams are different from other forms of crime as fraudsters aim to ignite fear and a sense of urgency in people so that they can exploit the same fear and trick them.
Read more: PAN Card Scam
The seriousness of the situation is best delivered by presenting accurate numbers. In the year 2024, a report recorded that the number of reported cases of cyber scams increased from around 75,800 cases in the year 2023 to 2,92,800 cases in 2024. Some of the most common types of cyber scams are phishing, vishing, smishing, online shopping scams, etc.
When one falls prey to any type of criminal activity, they don’t only lose personal information or money but it greatly harms their psychological health too. From a cycle of disturbing questions like ‘why was it me’ to the feelings of weakness and inferiority deteriorates one’s psyche greatly. Hence, all of us must be aware of every aspect of cyber scams and how one can stay safe from them.
Unfortunately, there are many incidents where people fall prey to cyber scams. Some real incidents are described below:
Asha, a woman from the city of Delhi met a man from Ireland online through a dating platform. She fell in love with him and they both decided to live together in India. He sent his belongings a few weeks before departing from his country. On the day of his flight, Asha got a call from customs in India who informed her that half the amount of the customers was still pending for which they required payment as soon as possible otherwise they would seize the man’s belongings. Asha made a payment of over a lakh and later when the man never showed up realised that she had fallen victim to a cyber scam.
A man from Mumbai who worked in the IT sector came across an online advertisement that claimed higher returns on the stock market exchange. He clicked on the advertisement and joined a whatsapp group wherein people were sharing their stories of earning higher interest.
He was excited after reading all the text messages of people in the group and decided to do the same. The fraudsters requested him to share his banking information and download a trading application. Fraudsters instructed him to transfer money to different accounts which came out to be a total of 1.16 crore and when the man tried to withdraw his money deposited as investments, the transaction wasn’t successful.
Also read: WhatsApp Scam
There are some prevalent cyber scams that one should be aware of. All of them are mentioned below.
Sr. No. | Type of Attack | Meaning |
---|---|---|
1 | Phishing | Tricking people into sharing their information |
2 | Vishing | Fake phone calls where fraudsters impersonate either an authority figure or the victim’s family or acquaintances |
3 | Smishing | Fraudsters send fake messages with suspicious links through SMS |
4 | Hacking | Accessing someone else’s computers or networks without their knowledge for personal gain |
5 | Identity Theft | Obtaining and using someone else’s identity online like their name, photos, etc without their knowledge |
6 | Online Shopping Scams | Fraudsters create fake shopping websites to steal people’s banking information |
7 | Online Dating Scams | Fraudsters make relationships online for personal gain |
As the rates of cybercrimes are rising, it is crucial especially for some people to have cyber insurance such as:
Individuals: There has been an enormous increase in the occurrence of cyber scams with individuals. Hence, it is crucial for people also to have cyber insurance.
Financial institutions: Banks and other financial institutions are very vulnerable to cyber security attacks hence they should have cyber insurance.
Government organisations: As govt. organisations have data of the citizens, they need to have cyber insurance as well.
Healthcare providers: As healthcare providers have sensitive data and resources that the attackers can exploit, they should have cyber insurance.
Also read: Arrest Call Scam
Cyber insurance for individuals covers a wide variety of cybercrimes. The list of those cybercrimes are listed below:
Identity theft
Cyber fraud
Phishing
Malware attack
Cyberstalking, etc.
In India, various reputed companies provide cyber insurance policies to individuals. Some of the major and trusted cyber insurance companies are:
Bajaj Allianz Cyber Safe Insurance Policy
HDFC ERGO Cyber Sachet Insurance Policy
ICICI Lombard Cyber Insurance Policy
TATA AIG Personal Cyber Insurance Policy
Reliance Cyber Insurance for individuals
One can protect themselves against cyber scams in several ways. Some of the measures are mentioned below:
Source: Ensure that the source of a message is legit and not suspicious before clicking on any links, opening any attachments, or downloading any app or documents.
Strong passwords: Create and set a strong password for all your important accounts, especially banking accounts.
Conscious while talking: Whenever you receive a phone call from an unknown number, please be cautious while talking and avoid sharing any personal information no matter what the other person says.
Awareness: Keep yourself updated with all the old and new types of cyber scams that fraudsters use and be diligent.
The instances of cyber scams have been increasing and affecting not only businesses but individuals as well hence, all must invest in cyber insurance policies and protect themselves.
Stay updated with Jaagruk Bharat to get the latest information on government healthcare schemes and more, and reach out to us via our community page if you have any questions.
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