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Inside India's villages of cyber cheats
Rural youth susceptible to scammers' recruitment
India has seen a surge in cybercrimes amid improved Internet connectivity and increased unemployment exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Cybercrimes in recent years have moved beyond urban areas to rural parts where avenues for employment are limited. The Straits Times travelled to villages in the interiors of central and eastern India to look at the growing problem.
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In the agricultural fields surrounding Thalpos village in India's eastern state of Bihar, a lucrative business had emerged.
Young men were often seen gathered under trees in the fields or in sheds made for groundwater wells for hours on end, busy on their mobile phones and laptops.
