How cyber fraud became an industry
The book 'Jamtara Calling' by Chitradeep Chakraborty explores the rise of cyber fraud hubs in rural India. It details how economic desperation and digitization led to the creation of organized scamming industries in regions like Jamtara.
Why it matters
It sheds light on the socio-economic roots of cybercrime in India and the challenges of policing digital fraud in remote areas.
Many people, especially in urban areas, have realised the perils of picking up calls from strangers and giving them their bank account or other personal details after being lured by tempting offers or frightened by threats. Responding to this surge in cybercrime, the government mandated telecom operators to replace caller tunes with public service announcements warning us all to be on guard. A 2020 Netflix series set in Jamtara in Jharkhand had some success; now, we have the first of what is likely to be a subgenre of books studying these scammers’ techniques.
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