DIGITAL FRAUDS SHOW NEW TRENDS! BEWARE!

Digital frauds are now coming in such innovative ways, you could hardly suspect. Earlier this year, a man who had just returned from a tourist destination in the east of India, proudly showed WhatsApp chats to his friends claiming that he was added in new international social media groups. And that they were earning smartly and in Dollars.

And that, he was now on way to be an international expert himself, in Crypto currency transaction.

‘How come?’ His friends asked.

He told them about the knowledge he had acquired by closely observing and understanding the comments by the international experts who had joined the groups as Crypto currency analysts.

That was certainly the most ‘in thing’ or ‘wow thing’ to the excited group of young traders most of whom were second or third generation shopkeepers.

‘How ?’ His friends asked again.

The man displayed the international numbers and profile pics of the group administrator and the analysts who were from different countries. He spoke at length about the income plans as shown in colorful charts as well as discussed in the ‘conversation’ in the chats.

There was no need to comprehend the  complexities or jargon associated with digital currencies or how much of what was how much later. All the ambitious youths could make out was an entrant could choose a plan, transfer a small amount and earn handsome margins as the currency changed hands and witnessed growth. In a matter of days and weeks, only !

Didn’t it sound like many gullible plans back home that went under various names including network marketing ? It did. But, this was after all an international thing and an elite closed group that wasn’t easily accessible to general public.

The hero of this real life story, let’s call him Mr. X, was very impressed, both by the plans that appeared lucrative and the opportunity to earn international citizens as personal friends. He didn’t acknowledge to have been particularly smitten by Ms. Anne’s profile, the smart admin of the group.

But, he wanted to be doubly sure before joining the group. So he clicked a few links and also checked profiles on the internet. When he felt he was satisfied, it was time ‘to go for a kill’.

So, our Mr. X decided to play safe by initially placing smaller investments. He didn’t want to call them baits. And he got returns, as promised. In a few transactions, he was more than impressed and convinced. In fact, one transaction fetched him a hundred dollars. Yes, he was elated.

Now was the time ‘to go for a real kill’ as a few others in the group claimed to have successfully done. He emptied his own account, then begged & borrowed from those he knew and also stole from his family’s funds. This time a total amount of rupees 23 lacs was transferred to the international account.

Since then, the WhatsApp group is silent. No posts from the cute looking Ms. Anne, the admin or the impeccably dressed expert analysts. His requests for a reply have met deafening silence. Many of the members have exited from the group. Our Mr. X is a known person in his circles and hence, is too scared to complain to the local Cyber crime investigation cell of the Maharashtra State  Police Department because, if the news is broken by the media with his name, it would cause him huge embarrassment. And those near and dear ones who had loaned or handed amounts to him in cash or via fund transfers, are calling him, asking for immediately returning the money.

Most importantly, the international frequent traveler friend who had introduced him to the group is not talking either. Probably, he too, has been fleeced and may be finding it difficult to acknowledge.

I am not bothered how Mr. X justifies to his chartered accountant, the entry of the amount in his account and then why transferred it to an international account. I am worried over something else. That, at this moment, as I write this, the international gang may be busy with freshly acquired new international numbers, seeking attention of other Indian citizens.

In a recent incident, that happened on the day of one of those bank holidays, a senior well meaning Indian citizen received a number of distress calls on his cell phone. It included a couple of video calls as well. The caller was successful in selling ‘a distress story’ and convincing him that they were working for Indian army on a project that involved transportation of few important goods and since it was a bank holiday, they were stuck. And due to probably a bad network connectivity, they were unable to contact others.

What they had asked for,  was a small amount transfer of forty thousand rupees only on the promise of returning as the banks re-opened the next day. The senior person, though warned by his family members, yet decided to take a chance as a dutiful citizen.

The amount, expectedly, didn’t come back nor did the callers. The senior well meaning person felt cheated and awful. But, as they approached cops, they were quite surprised to know that on the same bank holiday, many others were cheated by the same group of people in a similar manner, thus taking the total amount looted to several lacs.

So, the conclusion is, may it be the glamour of international recognition and international networking or the call for serving the nation, one must ask oneself a few basic questions and get facts checked plus re-verified before taking a final call. This is imperative to defend yourself from the fraudsters and their newer, imaginative tricks.

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