BENGALURU: The push for a digital economy seems to have given white collar criminals more avenues to target gullible people through phishing with ‘attractive offers’ and ‘cash back’ schemes.
Making matters worse is the use of e-wallets by fraudsters which has made it difficult for agencies to track the money flow. Since the perpetrators reside in different states, cyber police are finding it difficult to solve most cases.
In a recent case filed at the Cyber Crime Police Station, Bengaluru, Rajesh (name changed) lost `1 lakh over just three days. The fraudsters, posing as bank officials, had called him claiming to update his credit card which was to expire soon.
According to the complaint, the cyber criminals asked Rajesh to share the One-Time Password (OTP), which had been sent to his phone number, to renew the credit card. After Rajesh gave away the OTP, the fraudsters transferred `20,000 to their e-wallet account.
Rajesh, however, did not realise that he has fallen prey to a scam and the criminals siphoned off ` 80,000 in the next two days. Investigations revealed that the fraudsters had collected Rajesh’s card details such as card number and CVV number with the help of a bank insider and cheated him.
In another case, Rashmi received a call with an offer of reward points worth `10,000. But the caller told her that she had to share details of her debit card to redeem the reward points. Falling for the bait, Rashmi gave all her details including the OTP. Within minutes, `20,000 money was siphoned off her account.
Ever since a separate Cyber Crime Police Station was inaugurated in the city in February, it has received 110 complaints where people have been cheated of `50,000 or more and 130 petitions involving offences of `50,000 or less.
White collar criminal gangs
Officials of the Cyber Crime Wing have raised concerns over the lack of adequate security features in online transactions, which, they say, have aided criminals. “Earlier, in a pickpocket incident, the thief had to be on the spot. Now, the thief or a gang can sit anywhere in the world, cheat people and get away with the money,” an official pointed out.
“As soon as the victim gives the OTP or ATM PIN, the money is transferred instantaneously to the e-wallet of the criminal. It is possible to track the e-wallet if a complaint is filed immediately. Or else, within minutes, the money becomes untraceable as it can either be converted to cash or transferred to some other wallet,” he added.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Anand Kumar said the only way to prevent such cases was by creating awareness among the people. “The mode of cheating (economic offences) has remained the same for many years but people are still falling prey. No bank will call and ask the account/card details and the shared OTP to confirm the identity of the user. Banks also ask customers not to share such details with anybody,” he pointed out.
Why criminals prefer e-wallets
According to cyber crime police, previously, the criminals would transfer money to a bank account which they would have created with fake documents. This required some ground work and time. But to open an e-wallet account, all that is required is a SIM card. Fraudsters get multiple SIM cards with fake documents. Once the money reaches their e-wallet, multiple transactions are made to hide the money trail, say officials. Once the account is emptied, the cyber criminals dispose of the SIM card and open an e-wallet account with a new one.