NASHIK
During the festive season, the number of people buying goods, materials, and clothes online is increasing. At the same time, cybercriminals have become active with the cute name of ‘Diwali Offer’. Cybercriminals lure consumers with several lures of half-price or one-for-one free. So one needs to be very careful while buying. If a customer falls victim to such rumours, his/her bank account can be empty in no time. Cyber cell experts have urged the people to stay vigilant to prevent online crimes as the current time is also the favourite season of cyber criminals to commit crime.
Lottery frauds, lucky coupons, Diwali bonus
Often there is a flood of text messages, WhatsApp messages and emails telling people that they have won bumper lotteries, lucky coupons and Diwali bonus prizes. The senders can share a web link, mobile number or tell the receivers to visit a particular website etc. People should avoid such material. People should also try not to give their contact numbers at fuel stations where customers are promised Diwali prizes. People should not download any web link, particularly Anydesk app.
Cyber fraudsters create proxy websites of reputed online shopping firms, i.e. Amazon, Flipkart etc, while making altering the spellings of the company’s name. People usually fall prey to these companies under the impression that they are buying products from genuine companies. This is the most frequent crime in the festival season. Huge discounts are offered on online shopping. Many fake companies do this practice. Ideally, people should check the authenticity of these online companies prior to placing an order. Customers should search about the products and online companies which are offering discounts on online shopping. They should see the review of products too.
Do not click on QR code
People should avoid scanning the QR code sent by a third person. They should also not share their number to receive minimum payment of merely Re 1, Rs 5, Rs 20 etc if a caller says that it is necessary to start the flow of transactions. Fraudsters on the pretext of sending Re 1, Rs 5 etc obtain the bank details of the person and withdraw the money.
Distress calls to people
Distress calls to senior citizens whose wards are settled abroad have emerged as a new trend in online cheating. Fraudsters procure from various sources the records of people whose relatives are settled abroad. They give distress calls to people staying here informing them that their son/daughter has landed in trouble in the foreign country. They call the innocent people through a mobile application which shows the caller’s number as registered in Canada, France, US etc. They demand money and people transfer the money in panic.
