By Irene Manning, Program Manager, Digital Nagrik Program at 1M1B Foundation and
Aashi Tiwari, 12th grade student at Inventure Academy, Bangalore, and founder of Project CyberSiren
The idea of cybercrime in our minds is linked to large-scale data breaches and independent hackers in hoodies spending hours breaking into a system. But cybercrime in 2025 looks very different. It’s not only about corporations and heists. It’s a large-scale issue that affects all of us, and it’s only getting worse. After a loss of over ₹22,845 crore in 2024, a 206% increase from 2023, the I4C now projects that the annual loss may exceed 1.2 lakh crore in 2025, 0.7% of the Indian GDP.
Though scams keep evolving, the psychological levers remain the same. For this, it would be good to examine the emotions that scammers use which potentially lead us to becoming unwitting victims.
Fear is a big motivator in scams. If you are threatened with a power cut, loss of access to your bank account, or arrest, you immediately want to jump into action to mitigate your risk. This, however, is exactly the response that the scammers are looking for.
Fear of missing out (FOMO) is another motivator and often rushes you into making a choice. If you see advertisements for some cute clothing or shoes at a rock-bottom price, you may be prompted to place an order immediately, thereby giving scammers your personal information.
Overconfidence is a third obstacle to recognizing your own vulnerability. Many see themselves as too smart or experienced to fall prey to scammers. However, an evaluation of successful scams of high-ranking officials, journalists, doctors, and retired bureaucrats belies this belief. It can happen to anyone given the right circumstances.
The illusion of legitimacy, the professional-looking websites, the official emails, and police officer uniforms could fool anyone, making you trust people that you shouldn’t. Scammers rely on this trust to bypass any sense of caution.
Given the strong emotions that scammers play on, what can we the public do to mitigate our risk?
Ensure that you are knowledgeable. Stay informed. The GoI has invested in providing learning resources to the public in multiple languages. If you don’t feel like you know the basics, take advantage of these resources to get up to speed. Also make sure that you stay informed about current scams in the news.
Understand the emotions that scammers are tapping into. If you receive a message that catches you off guard, do not immediately react. Stop and think. Your instinctive hesitation is a signal, not a weakness. Always verify claims, whether it’s by searching to discover current scams, or by investigating a call or text. If you get a surprising call, hang up and check directly with the mentioned company (bank, utility, etc.) to understand what, if anything, is required.
Talk openly about cyber safety. Many victims stay silent out of shame or fear. But a simple story about how you almost fell for a scam can be the warning that someone in your life needs to protect themselves. Immediate reporting of losses to the helpline 1930 and the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal can help authorities take action and prevent further harm.
Keep your devices safe. This encompasses a host of actions including, knowing the whereabouts of your device at all times, having strong and unique passwords stored in a password manager, using 2 factor authentication for critical transactions, keeping your device software up to date, locking your computer screen when not in use, and ensuring that you are using genuine and licensed software on your devices.
By keeping ourselves informed and active in managing our digital safety, we can lower the risk of being caught off-guard and falling victim to the increasing number of scams.