Beware of fraudulent e-notice from govt. offices, warns Centre

• On receiving a suspicious e-notice from a government office by email, people should check the Internet to authenticate the name of the official named in it and call the mentioned department, the Union Home Ministry’s cybercrime unit said.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• Users should be aware of “fake emails” sent in the garb of a government e-notice, said the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) in a public advertisement.
• The I4C suggested counter-measures before clicking or responding to such emails:
  • check if the email has originated from an authentic government website that ends with “gov.in”
  • check the Internet for information regarding officials named in the email
  • call the mentioned department to verify the email received.
• Earlier this month, the Union Finance Ministry issued a public advisory alerting email users to fraudulent e-mails bearing names
  • signatures, stamps and logos of Delhi Police Cyber Crime and Economic Offence, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB), the Intelligence Bureau and Cyber Cell of Delhi.
• The MHA and I4C ad issued said such suspicious emails and other types of cyber fraud should be reported immediately to www.cybercrime.gov.in or call the cyber crime helpline no 1930.

PRELIMS TAKEAWAY

• Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre