Top 5 Social media crimes

In recent times we have faced many issues like pandemics and lockdown for nearly one and a half years; it made us stuck in our homes but eventually increased our time on screen and the internet. Work from home and online classes come into play very well. Since last year the rate of social media crime has been increased tremendously, many cases have been reported. Some of the crimes that have taken place via social media are work-from-home scams, gift scams, online gaming site scams, cyberbullying cases, fake information, and social media account take over, etc. 

Work from home scam

The pandemic situation has led us to work from the home concept as many corporate companies are empowering work from home to their employees. Still, some people even lost their jobs, and financial crises have been rising. Some of the bad guys have taken advantage of the situation and initiate the scam by sending messages and creating templates for jobs (so-called fake jobs). Whosoever responded to these fake contexts in need of a job; used to send an agreement and ask the job seeker to sign it and look legitimate. As soon as the person signing the agreement, these people give them a job, for example, typing work in a limited time; as soon as the person completes his work and submit it to them, they say, "the work is not good, we didn't like it, and it is against our agreement, so you pay us, or otherwise, we will file a complaint against you in court." if a person denies paying, they send him a message of court case number with so and so court name, unfortunately, to remain away from court cases the person has to pay. Therefore this is how this scam has taken place to many people during the lockdown.

Gift scam 

a very new fraud has been coming to light "the gift scam," it has been found that many people have accepted the random(anonymous) friend request on Facebook and Instagram platform, who purported to be a citizen from any foreign country. Now, this person starts to send messages to their target; they made perfect friendships. and then this foreign friend asks the address of the target's residence to send expensive gifts, then the target gives him the address, and he says that your order has been shipped you get it in 10 to 15 days. Suddenly the target gets one random call from customs asking for trans-border value for possession of things. Otherwise, it will be considered as smuggling things; then the target calls his friend who has send the gift, he says " I am in the middle of something, you pay that money I’ll pay you later," and this is how the target becomes the victim and pay money which amount in lakhs. Therefore the parcel never receives, and ultimately, the fraudster gets success.

Online gaming scams and cyberbullying

I would say that these two crimes are quite interrelated, as most of the online games like PUBG where one can globally connect to other guys. Most teenage children who are fond of this game are targeted; the bad guys usually recognize their victims over voice and manipulate them or threaten them. They extract personal information from them for their own sake and convenience. Parents need to talk to their children and execute parental control options.

Fake information 

Generally, we see Whatsapp as a source of information that contains forwarded messages, audio files, and video files; other apps also have these features, but most of the information is sent through WhatsApp. Most of the info is fake. Fake info is forwarded, and ultimately, it leads to misunderstanding in society and community. I message all the users to think before you forward because spreading fake info or message is a crime.

Social media account take over.

Social media influencer, you might have heard this word. It means so many followers, and they admire you for who you are! And they love your work, but the hackers take advantage of the follower score. They hack your account and change the name. They make it some online shop and sell branded goods at low prices; ordinary people who are fond of branded things get easily trapped by seeing so many followers, which look legitimate. Unfortunately, the victims pay the prices for things they want and never receive the waiting order. 

Therefore this is all about the recent social media crimes which have been taken place in many cities of India; people have lost lakhs and the core of their money. I'll suggest you all be safe on social media, never accept the request from any stranger and start a conversation with them, always use a 2-factor authentication mechanism for your social media account; parents should always keep an eye on their children and fix the time for screen exposure along with parental controls, do not believe anyone on social media except for family and friends. These are some of the safe practices on the internet which will prevent you from becoming a victim. Stay safe!

Thank you, J