Panaji: A total of 800 Indian Navy officers, including those from INS Vikramaditya at the naval base at Karwar, underwent a cyber awareness programme conducted by Goa police to help them identify evolving cyber threats and prevent falling prey to cyber fraudsters.Cybercrime has emerged as a serious national security threat, targeting not only individuals but also critical defence ecosystems through identity theft, phishing, social engineering, financial fraud and data breaches.During the last three months, Goa police reached out to nearly 8,100 people through 80 cyber awareness programmes.Goa police said that the outreach initiative also extended beyond conventional educational institutions, with dedicated programmes for colleges and universities, NGOs, clubs, semi-govt organisations and other stakeholder groups.“Two programmes were conducted outside Goa on the request of the commanding officer of Karwar naval base for the Navy officers on board INS Vikramaditya reaching approximately 800 participants,” said DSP Nilesh Rane, PRO of Goa police.“The sessions covered various forms of cybercrime, including phishing and smishing attacks, OTP and UPI frauds, fake investment and trading scams, job and work-from-home frauds, digital arrest scams, online shopping frauds, identity theft, social media impersonation, cyberstalking, online harassment, sextortion and other forms of financial cyber fraud,” Rane said.Goa police said that participants were sensitised about suspicious links, fraudulent calls and messages, fake websites, misuse of social media platforms and the importance of safeguarding personal and financial information. Special emphasis was laid on the immediate reporting of cyber financial fraud through National Cyber Crime Helpline 1930 and the portal www.cybercrime.gov.in.
