UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Who is the most vulnerable to cyber frauds?

Q1. With reference to the institutional arrangements for dealing with cybercrime in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Since 'Police' and 'Public Order' are State subjects, the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of cybercrime is primarily the responsibility of State and Union Territory law enforcement agencies.
  2. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre was created by an Act of Parliament that empowers it to register and investigate cyber-fraud cases directly in every State.
  3. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team draws its mandate as the national agency for cyber-security incident response from the Information Technology Act, 2000.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q2. A ransomware attack disables the servers of a public hospital. On the same day, a retired teacher loses savings after a caller impersonating a bank official obtains her card details. Which of the following correctly describes how responsibility for the two incidents is divided in India?

  • A. I4C coordinates the technical response to the attack, while CERT-In investigates the teacher's loss as a crime
  • B. CERT-In coordinates the technical response to the attack, while State police investigate the teacher's loss as a crime
  • C. State police coordinate the technical response to the attack, while I4C investigates the teacher's loss as a crime
  • D. CERT-In coordinates the technical response to the attack, while I4C investigates the teacher's loss as a crime

Q3. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Although cybercrime is investigated primarily by State and Union Territory police, the Union Government operates national reporting platforms such as the 1930 helpline and the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
  2. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team is the national agency for responding to cyber-security incidents under the Information Technology Act, 2000.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q4. With reference to the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS), consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. It aims to put a hold on defrauded money while it is still in the banking system, before fraudsters can siphon it off.
  2. Its effectiveness depends on banks, payment aggregators and other financial intermediaries being onboarded alongside police agencies.
  3. It decides whether the bank or the customer must finally bear the loss from an unauthorised electronic transaction.
  4. A victim can set it in motion by calling the national 1930 cyber helpline.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 3 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 2 and 4 only

Q5. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. The chance that defrauded money can be held back through the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System falls the longer a victim waits before reporting the fraud.
  2. Fraudsters quickly pass stolen funds through successive layers of mule accounts, after which the money becomes harder to trace and freeze.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q6. Consider the following facts: (i) The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre maintains a Suspect Registry of identifiers of cyber criminals, built from data supplied by banks and financial institutions. (ii) This registry, including data on mule accounts, is shared with all participating entities, which have declined transactions worth several thousand crore rupees by matching them against it. Which of the following inferences can validly be drawn from the above facts?

  1. The registry has made post-fraud reporting through the 1930 helpline and freezing of funds redundant.
  2. The registry works preventively, stopping some fraudulent transfers before they are completed rather than only tracing money after a loss.
  3. Information held by one bank about a suspect account can help protect the customers of other participating institutions.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 3 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q7. A person receives a video call from someone in uniform claiming to be a CBI officer. The caller says the person is under 'digital arrest' for money laundering, must stay on camera, and must transfer savings to a 'verification account'. In this context, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The demand is fraudulent, because genuine investigating agencies do not carry out investigation or keep people in custody through video calls.
  2. The caller's conduct can be prosecuted as cheating by personation using a communication device under the Information Technology Act, 2000.
  3. Since the caller claims to represent a Central agency, the complaint lies outside the jurisdiction of State police and can be taken up only by that agency.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q8. In the context of measuring vulnerability to cyber fraud, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A victimisation survey can capture frauds that were never reported to the police, whereas registered-crime data records a fraud only if a complaint is formally registered.
  2. The finding that wealthier and more educated respondents more often report financial losses implies that fraudsters target poorer respondents less frequently.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 only
  • C. Both 1 and 2
  • D. Neither 1 nor 2