BENGALURU: About 99 per cent of the cyber crime cases in the city involve well-to-do victims with high educational qualifications while only a small number of them belong to the lower economic strata, according to the Cyber Crime police station. About 30 per cent of the complainants are IT professionals while the rest include businessmen, chartered accountants, doctors and students, said M Chandrappa, police inspector in-charge at the Cyber Crime Police Station.
The total number of cyber crime cases registered so far is 11,000, of which 9,000 are pending at the station level. Of these, about 8,000 cases involve victims from an educated background, Chandrappa added. According to the police, people who are more tech-savvy are more prone to getting duped online, mainly because they are the ones relying heavily on technology. Perpetrators also find new ways to trick people into giving them money. “It’s advised everywhere that you should not share your One Time Password (OTP) or personal details with anyone. People should remain careful. For instance, if you want to book/cancel an airline or train ticket, you should go to the website to check for customer care numbers. There are many cases where people just search online for the number and end up calling fraudsters, who extract account information from them,” Chandrappa said.
In a recent case, a 35-year-old IT professional met a man on a matrimonial website who posed as a doctor working in a foreign country. After a few days of texting each other, the man informed her about his trip to Bengaluru. On that particular day, he called her from the airport, saying that he was caught by the customs with valuables and needed money to pay the customs officer. The woman collected about Rs 33 lakh to help him. Later, when he did not attend her calls, she filed a police complaint.
Students are also cheated on social media and sites for selling and buying products. Fraudsters pose as army officials by creating a fake identity card and pretend to sell their vehicles at a lower price. They ask the students to send some money before the vehicle if delivered, and then escape with the money.