How Mewat became India's new hub for cyber criminals

The Mewat district, located 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of New Dehli, India's capital, has become a hub for young cyber criminals. According to government data, 54% of cyber crimes registered in India originate from Mewat.

The crimes mostly consist of different smartphone scams, where perpetrators scam and blackmail victims. Unlike other cybercrimes, which require sophisticated infrastructure, the crime network in Mewat is structureless, leaderless and less sophisticated. Anyone with a smartphone and a bank account can become a phone scammer.

Police say most people who conduct these crimes are between the ages of 17-30, though some phone scammers say children as young as 12 have carried out these crimes.