(Image source from: Youth Village Zimbabwe)

The Hyderabad cyber crime Police created an Android app meant to test the cyber crime awareness of internet users, posing some truly tough questions.

A reporter of a news source got early access to the Beta version of the app that is still under development and scored a 17.24 percent risk of being a victim of cyber crime.

"That's not a good score, your score should be 0 percent," said G. Chakravarthy, Assistant Commissioner of Police. "The app is meant to test the awareness of people, it's still under development and so there is no set release date yet."

The app comes with a set of 29 questions, divided into two sections. The 16 questions in the first section have 'Yes' or 'No' answers, designed to test your digital practices.

The first section poses questions such as, "Would you use your debit card in an ATM (Automated Teller Machine) with no security guard?" and "If your friend has an online friend who they have known for a year, but is seeking money for an emergency, would you advise him to transfer some money to that person?"

The second half of the quiz has 13 multiple-choice questions, and these are a lot tougher. The questions cover a range of topics that deal with our daily interaction with technology. The end score the app gives you can be quite humbling.

"The economic condition of a person, curiosity, and greed are motivators that trick people in falling for online scams," said Chakravarthy. "We will be adding more questions to the app and will be releasing it in Telugu too."

The Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police has the rising task of trying to create awareness about the various types of cyber crimes that are coming to light.

According to the annual report of Hyderabad City Police, the number cyber crimes reported in the city has shot up. In 2016, the police recorded 237 cases; in 2017, they recorded over 300 cases and in 2018, within the first six months alone, the cyber crime police recorded 224 cases.

"These figures do not represent the ground reality. There is a massive under-reporting of cyber crime cases in India and, at present, these numbers represent just 1 percent of the actual number of incidents," said Pavan Duggal, a cyber-law expert. "People seldom come forward to report cyber crimes because of loopholes in the legal system."

"We have undertaken massive awareness programmes warning people not to share their OTPs (One-Time Passwords) and other sensitive information with others; yet, many still share these details and fall prey to cyber crimes," said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber Crime) KCS Raghuvir.

"Ever since we initiated awareness programmes, many have reached out to us saying they have been able to prevent themselves from falling prey, but more awareness on emerging scams are the need of the hour."

By Sowmya Sangam