Online fraud prevention in our hands
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Online fraud cases have been on the rise as people depend mostly on digital transactions in lockdown. 30 such cases have been registered in capital alone so far this year. Culprits exploit even educated people’s vulnerabilities with sweet offers and entreating calls and dupe them of money. Staying alert, not sharing bank details, avoiding friend requests etc are the key to stay safe
After a brief lull, online fraud cases are on the rise in the city. Since the lockdown necessitated online banking transactions, the fraudsters have taken the opportunity to dupe people. Last week, City Police Commissioner Balram Kumar Upadhyay issued a statement for the public to stay away from phone calls and messages asking for bank account or credit card details. This message itself shows the gravity of the situation.If it was asking for a One-Time Password (OTP) earlier in the guise of an executive from a bank, fraudsters now come up with new techniques like sending messages to people saying their SIM cards are blocked or the period for redeeming the credit card reward points is getting over.
Interestingly, the people who fall into their trap are well educated and have technical knowhow to do online transactions. As per the data available with the Cyber Crime police station in the capital, 30 online fraud cases have been registered so far this year.Last year, there were nearly 40 online fraud cases out of a total 90 cybercrime cases registered. This means an approximately 30% rise in the number of cases reported per month this year. The number of complaints which come up at the station is much higher.
Culprits from other states
According to T Shyamlal, DySP, Cybercrime police station, they have received more than 100 complaints this year pertaining to online fraud alone. Of these, the police have registered 30 cases and the investigation is in progress to trace the culprits in many cases. He said most of the culprits involved are either from other states or operate from other states.
“Since the fraudsters are operating from other states, it takes some time to nab them. The new trend is that the fraudsters target the people who have credit cards. They call the subscriber and offer him/her loans at a low interest. People eventually fall into their trap and send the credit card details. In some cases, they will send a fake screenshot of a money transaction to the victim saying that they had had wrongly sent `15,000 to the person instead of `5,000 and ask the latter to send `10,000 back. Some people send money without checking their bank accounts,” he said.
Shyamlal added that this has become another fallout of the lockdown as most people prefer online money transactions, Google Pay and PhonePe and educated people are the majority of complainants. In addition to the online fraud cases mentioned above, there are also other cases like matrimonial, OLX and online business frauds.
The latest techniques are credit card loan offers and asking money from victims, making them believe that their phone SIM cards are blocked.Accepting anonymous friend requests on Facebook, particularly that of foreign nationals, is one of the reasons behind the increasing online fraud. Scams are being carried out by creating lookalike accounts of shopping websites such as Snapdeal, Amazon and Flipkart. Lack of proper knowledge about using e-commerce platforms is also a factor.
The police said though 30 cases were recorded, there are many unreported cyber crimes as the victims are reluctant to come forward fearing embarrassment. The cybercrime police station in the capital has the highest number of cyber crimes reported in the state.
DIG (south zone ) K Sanjay Kumar Gurudin told TNIE that attempts and incidences of digital online fraud have been increasing fast. “These happen mostly due to lack of awareness and errors on the part of customers. If a deal looks too good to be true, be careful to not make upfront payments or give advances without checking if the website is genuine.
It’s important to make users aware that they should not share sensitive information such as PIN, passwords, card details or log-in details with anyone. More important is to make them aware that the bank or its officials will never ask for such details under any circumstances. As they hide their true identities using technology, nabbing the cyber criminals is becoming difficult day by day. Hence, taking precautions and prevention are the key,” he said.
CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER’SWARNING
The public must be vigilant while doing online transactions. Online fraud complaints are on the rise in the city. This happens due to the negligence of the customers, City Police Commissioner Balram Kumar Upadhyay said. Fraudsters approach customers in various ways and they study the victim well through the latter’s social media activities. Do not respond to service messages from 10-digit numbers. These will be messages intended for fraudulent activity. There may be instances of people, including acquaintances, in the guise of soldiers, showing identification documents similar to their ID cards on OLX and promising to deliver home a wide range of items such as popular brands of motorcycles and scooters at very low prices.
People are identified as targets through social media like Facebook. Despite several warnings, people still fall for such scams. “If we decide that we will not pay without seeing the product and its value, such scams will disappear,” he said. “The fraudsters also make video calls, asking for money. If the money is not paid, they threaten to send the morphed video to relatives and friends and upload it on YouTube and Facebook. Such scams can only be prevented by avoiding chatting and video calls with strangers and accepting friend requests only from genuine acquaintances. In case of any such scam, they should immediately contact the cyber crime police station or cyber cell in their district and seek their help and guidance,” he said.
How do they operate
The latest techniques is credit card loan offers
Asking money from victims, making them believe their phone SIM cards are blocked
Anonymous friend requests on Facebook, especially from foreign nationals
By creating lookalike accounts of shopping websites such as Snapdeal, Amazon and Flipkart