HYDERABAD: A heartwarming photograph of a middle-aged woman holding a placard that reads -- 365 days, job solutions. Call us on 094910 ***** -- has been doing the rounds on various social networking platforms for many years now. Similar advertisements are also being shared and re-shared on personal messenger service, WhatsApp.
According to the Internet and Mobile Association of India’s report ‘Mobile Internet in India 2016’, the country is estimated to have 371 million mobile internet users by June this year. Implication: advertisers can reach 371 million people personally through mobile internet services. While that is on the bright side, findings of a survey conducted by telecom company Telenor, on 400 internet users between 18 and 65, shows that 39 per cent of the participants have fallen prey to work-from-home scams.
One such housewife is Nalini Sukumar from Kothapet. “I saw a post on Spread the Word on Facebook. I am wary of such posts, but this one was a lot more convincing than the others. It said, no scam. No extra costs. I called them,” says Nalini.
A man called Ravi Chander on the other side of the call told her that she would get `150 for selling a product online. “I had to make calls to a list of numbers he would give me and I my job is to convince them to buy it. That was fine, but I had to make a deposit of Rs 10,000 to assure them that I will work without hassles,” laughs Nalini.
While Nalini caught the culprit and refrained herself from taking the next step, at least two per cent of the people who participated in the survey have been tricked into completing tasks, but never received payment.
Another 17 per cent of the people also admitted that they had been victim to calls made from those involved in a scam pretending to be their bank, to acquire personal information and funds. Suryanarayana Rao from Tarnaka fell prey to one call.
“I have a credit card account with a HDFC bank. I got a call one day confirming my name, the bank’s name and my credit card number. The lady told me that I can convert my pay back points to cash that can be exchanged for some fine things. I agreed,” says the 55-year-old. After a week, his package arrived. “It was all fake. A pair of sunglasses, a belt, a t-shirt and a wallet. They are branded, but fake products. It could have cost them around Rs 500. I have tried to call those numbers. Weeks later they responded saying they will be replaced, but no sign of it yet,” adds Suryanarayana.
Almost 17 per cent of the people also admit that they fell for lottery scam emails that have come with a postal address from Europe. But the biggest number, 25 per cent of the people in the survey, who are caught in lottery scams that promise free international trips but have to pay a good amount or walk away with a cookery set.