Cyber crooks are targeting around 200 people daily in the national capital, swindling their money with different modus operandi, a senior Delhi Police officer who has been investigating cyber crimes said.
The officer said the fraudsters in and around Delhi are using sextortion, work from home, online hotel booking, and online resale, among other tricks to dupe the victims, whereas the gangs operating from Jharkhand and Bihar are using scams such as KYC expiry, Android banking malware to siphon money from gullible individuals.
Mewat-based cyber criminals are siphoning amounts using investment applications and websites offering part-time jobs, seeking OTPs to take control of victims’ systems, and creating fake social media accounts for sextortion, he added.
The Delhi Police in a recent post on X warned residents of the national capital of such frauds. “We receive around 200 complaints everyday regarding cyber frauds in Delhi. Most of these complaints are related to work from home, sextortion, OTP-related cases, online selling of products,” the police officer said.
The Director of Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) had recently said that over Rs 10,300 crore was siphoned off from the country by cyber criminals since April 1, 2021, of which the agencies managed to successfully block around Rs 1,127 crore in the country.
Over 4.52 lakh cyber crime cases were reported on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) in 2021, which rose by 113.7 per cent in 2022, with 9.66 lakh cases being reported on the portal, I4C Director Rajesh Kumar had said.
Another senior police officer said the government has introduced a new software on a trial basis that helps the police in locating the cybercriminals operating in their area.
The use of this software, coupled with quick response, has led to a massive reduction in crime by cyber fraudsters of Jharkhand’s Deoghar and Jamtara areas. “If you have seen an online advertisement promising to sell a bike or a car at a throwaway cost, but asking you to pay a transfer fee upfront, chances are it would have been posted by someone from Haryana’s Mewat region,” the officer said as he warned people of being duped by such commercials.
Explaining the modus operandi of such cyber crimes, the officer said the fraudsters post advertisements on social media and other platforms with attractive offers. When someone shows interest in such offers, the accused usually ask for payment on the pretext of courier charges, transfer fees and so on.
After the victims make the payment, the scamsters switch off their phones and go incommunicado.
“Everyone must check and verify the application or website before making an online purchase. Second, if someone is ordering something, they must ensure cash on delivery (COD) payment method,” he added.
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