Spam and why it matters
Spam is unsolicited bulk messaging, and much of it is not harmless advertising. Spam is the usual first step of a scam: a message that offers money, threatens a block on an account, or asks the reader to confirm details. The messages are cheap to send in very large numbers, so even a very small share of replies makes them profitable for the sender. The best protection is not to engage with them.
Four habits help. Do not reply to a message from an unknown sender, even to ask to be removed, because a reply confirms that the address is live. Do not open attachments or follow links in unexpected messages. Keep the address that is used for important accounts separate from the one given on public forms and websites. And use the filters that e-mail and phone services provide, while remembering that no filter is perfect.
Why scams work and how to resist them
Scams work by exploiting ordinary reactions rather than technical weakness. A message that claims to come from a bank, an employer or an authority borrows trust. A deadline or a threat creates pressure, so that the reader acts before thinking. A promise of money or a prize appeals to hope. Recognising these three levers, trust, pressure and reward, is the most useful protection, because it applies to every new version of the scam.
A short routine helps. Pause when a message asks for a code, a password or a payment. Check the claim through a number or website that is already known, not through the message. Ask someone else when the request is unusual. And remember that a genuine bank does not ask for a one-time password or a password by message or call. These habits cost little and stop most attempts at the first step.
Which sections apply to a scam message
A scam message that impersonates a bank or a person engages section 66D of the Information Technology Act 2000, which punishes cheating by personation by means of a communication device or computer resource with imprisonment up to three years and a fine up to Rs 1 lakh. Where the offender then uses the victim's password or other identification, section 66C applies. If the message carries a program that infects the recipient's device, section 43(c) on the introduction of a computer contaminant and section 66 apply as well. The general criminal law punishes cheating whatever the medium.
These sections are explained in the guide to the IT Act 2000. The commonest forms of fraud that begin with a message are described in the page on online fraud in India, with the official figures.
Reporting a scam
A scam message can be reported even if no money was lost. Keeping a screenshot, the sender's number or address and the time received gives the police something to work with. A person who lost money should inform the bank at once and report on the helpline 1930 or the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal at cybercrime.gov.in. The steps are in the guide on how to file a cyber crime complaint online, and the methods that scammers use are described in the page on how cyber criminals work.