BENGALURU: Every few days, there is news about a new cyber fraud, where fraudsters target individuals and trick them into parting with their money in unique ways.
The latest fraud lures individuals applying for higher studies, switching to different jobs for better prospects, or planning to settle elsewhere, and traps them by offering to help with their process.
The cyber police investigating ongoing cases have observed a new trend in this scam, where most victims did not lose money overnight. In contrast to other scams,where victims lose large sums in just a few days, the victims here were lured over a month or more to build confidence.
A senior police officer said that in most of these cases, the accused invested time in the fraud. In addition to the technical aspects of cybercrime, social engineering was equally influential. Accused maintained prolonged contact with the victims to build trust in the schemes. “It is noticed that a lot of people aged around 21-25 apply for higher education during March and April. Due to salary increase and job opportunities, many also look to relocate during this time. People looking for such opportunities willingly update their details on multiple online platforms, including job apps,” the official added.
“Recently, a man lost over Rs 3 lakh. He had been looking for jobs through various job apps where he had shared his resume. Many days after he shared his resume, fraudsters sent him an email offering a job. After the candidate agreed, they sent him another e-mail containing forms, all appearing genuine and with legitimate names. Even the link to the form was manipulated to mimic a trusted and well-known job portal,” explained the investigating officer.
To build more trust, the fraudsters conducted two rounds of interviews as part of the recruitment process. “Processes, particularly those involving documents required by another country, often incur higher costs, hence people do not hesitate much before making the payment,” said the officer. Tactics like delayed email responses and documenting everything via e-mail tends to erase any doubt of a possible fraud in the process, he pointed out.
The fraud came to light when the victim was called to Mumbai to sign his visa application after he paid Rs 3 lakh only to discover that no such company existed at the address provided.