Gurugram: Haryana Director General of Police (DGP) O.P. Singh has unveiled what he calls a “lifesaving hack” to fight cybercrime: the PVR – or Pause, Verify, Report – model.
The three-step “simple, musical” strategy linked with popular Bollywood songs is designed to prompt people to take two crucial seconds to think when a suspicious message or call hits their phone—and protect themselves from financial fraud, a growing problem in the country.
“Scammers don’t hack systems,” Singh, who is to retire as DGP on 31 December, said at the high-profile Townhall in Gurugram. “They hack human behaviour.”
According to Singh, almost every online fraud is designed to exploit one of six emotions: fear, urgency, trust, curiosity, greed, or carelessness.
When these emotions show up, he said, your mind must instantly play PVR. When fear shows up, pause instead of panicking. When urgency appears, verify instead of rushing. When something feels wrong, report it instead of staying silent.
Musical cues
What made Singh’s advice different from countless other cyber awareness drives was its delivery. Each step was linked with a popular Bollywood song, with the musical cues used as memory aids designed to make these responses automatic rather than deliberate.
Singh paired ‘Pause’ with “Jiska Mujhe Tha Intezar”, ‘Verify’ with “Kaun Hai Vo, Bolo Bolo Kaun Hai Vo”, and ‘Report’ with “1930-Chak De India”.
1930 is the National Cybercrime helpline number, which the DGP clubbed with the Bollywood song “Chak De India” to convey the message that the moment people report a crime on this helpline number, the police will spring into action to arrest those behind the fraud.
The musical twist, he explained, is deliberate. “Humour is the simplest way to make cyber safety stick.”
The first step, Pause, is about breaking the scammer’s most powerful weapon, panic.
“First, stop. Take a breath. Panic is a scammer’s oxygen,” he said. This two-second pause, he argues, is where most fraud can be stopped.
The DGP emphasised that fraudsters thrive on creating a sense of urgency. Whether it’s a fake police officer threatening arrest, a limited-time investment opportunity, or a message claiming your account will be blocked, they all have one thing in common: they don’t want you to think. They want you to react immediately.
The second step, Verify, is where the Singh asks people to ask three simple questions: Who is this person? Why are they asking for this? What exactly are they demanding? He stressed that no genuine bank or government authority rushes you into making decisions.
The third step, Report, is perhaps the most actionable. The DGP urged people to dial 1930 if something still feels wrong after pausing and verifying.
He highlighted that the system in Haryana has become increasingly efficient, with the capability to freeze money before it disappears if reported quickly enough.
Recent data suggests that if victims report fraud within six hours, recovery rates can reach up to 70 percent.
The timing of his advice couldn’t be more critical. Haryana sees thousands of financial fraud complaints each year, with hundreds of crores vanishing into digital black holes.
The DGP acknowledged that Haryana has made significant progress in combating cybercrime, with the state climbing from 23rd position nationally to number one in recent rankings. Recovery rates have more than doubled, and arrest rates have tripled. But he also made clear that this is an evolving battle.
The underlying message is straightforward: technology can be patched and firewalls can be strengthened, but human emotions remain the most exploitable vulnerability.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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