Key Points

"Therefore, if you find that you have been subjected to cyber fraud, you should immediately file a complaint on the helpline numbers 1930 or 1945 without delay.

"Just like the life of an accident victim can be saved if treatment is received in the 'Golden Hour', in the same way, cyber crime can be detected and the amount can be saved if the complaint is filed during the Golden Hour," CM Fadnavis said in his address after inaugurating the Cyber Awareness Month function.

The function was attended by Director General of Police Rashmi Shukla, Additional Chief Secretary of Home Department Iqbal Singh Chahal, actor Akshay Kumar, actress Rani Mukherjee, Dr Farooq Qazi and Prof Manjesh Hanwal of IIT-Mumbai.

CM Fadnavis said, "Preventing cybercrime is the biggest challenge in today's digital age. It is necessary to prevent financial losses along with punishing the criminal after the crime is committed. Awareness is the most effective solution to prevent cyber fraud."

"Due to the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), common people are being deceived by misusing new techniques like phishing, OTP fraud, deepfakes, voice and face cloning. We provide information through social media, online transactions, payments. After accepting cookies, personal information can be misused. This leads to scams, extortion, cyber bullying," he observed.

CM Fadnavis said that world-class cyber security labs, response centres and regulatory mechanisms have been set up in the state. This allows immediate action to be taken after fraud and minimize the damage.

"However, timely complaints are important for this. Technology is the threat and technology is the solution. Our capacity to deal with challenges like deepfake is increasing. Any digital crime leaves its digital fingerprint behind. Therefore, both capacity and public awareness are equally important. It is necessary to spread information about cyber security to the youth, and communicators play an important role in this work," he noted.

Director General of Police Rashmi Shukla said, "The Ministry of Railways has launched a remarkable awareness campaign to keep its citizens alert and protect them immediately. Cyber security alerts are being given daily at every major railway station in the country.

"Lakhs of citizens are hearing these messages every day in their daily lives. The state police system, recognising the need for public awareness, is also conducting an intensive public awareness campaign in all cities, districts and social media platforms in Maharashtra."

A documentary on cyber security was shown on this occasion. Also, a comic booklet for children called 'Cyber Yoddha' was released by CM Fadnavis. Also, cyber warriors working for cyber awareness were felicitated.

- IANS