BENGALURU: Despite several warnings regarding crimes committed via social networking sites, cybercrime police say such cases are on the rise. According to cybercrime police, about two to three such cases are reported every day. Interestingly, even the well-read and educated people fall prey to these traps.
The first eight months of 2019 saw a sharp increase in cases, where people were trapped through online interactions. According to the department, ‘gift-matrimony fraud’ has been reported in 335 cases. Here, people are lured with the help of fake accounts on matrimonial sites.
Rajendra (name changed) a resident of Jeevan Bima Nagar said he filed a complaint against a fraudster who extorted Rs 55,000 from him. The fraudster was disguised as a lady named Susan from the UK, who asked Rajendra to transfer the amount to her, as she was held at customs at Delhi airport.
“I told her that my brother is a policeman in Delhi and asked her to contact him. On my claim of knowing the police, she disconnected the call and blocked me,” said 29-year-old Rajendra, a supervisor at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. This was not the first time he was a victim to such a crime, six months back, he faced a similar situation.
“It’s difficult to track whether the server is operated from nearby or from abroad. As the identity of the fraudster is anonymous, it requires a minimum of two days to identify the device used to commit such crimes,” said Yeshwanth Kumar, inspector, Cyber Crime.
“On being instructed to transact money, people should clarify with their bank. Blindly trusting payment links or portals should be prevented,” he said.