THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After completing his MBA in finance, Thiruvananthapuram-based Kumar was looking for a job overseas via a job search site. A decent offer from Canada made him seal the deal. However, no sooner than he realized that it was a scam, but only after he had paid Rs 1 lakh, than he lodged a complaint with the police. Initially, he was asked to deposit Rs 1,000 as part of the registration fee. Later, he was asked to pay more on the pretext of various charges such as visa charges, ticket fare and stay arrangements amounting to Rs 1 lakh. The delay in getting the appointment letter made Sharath suspicious and he withdrew from the job offer and demanded a refund. When he didn’t get his money back, he realised that he was cheated and filed a complaint with the police.
A few months ago, police had arrested a Nigerian national, who had arrived in India on a student visa and was found to be operating an online job racket. The accused sent emails to various persons offering them placements in various companies in the United States. A city-based woman also fell prey to this fraud and electronically transferred Rs 1.3 lakh to the suspect.
In March, four people were arrested in Ernakulam for duping job aspirants after offering them jobs overseas. During interrogation, the police learnt that the accused persons used to take the job aspirants abroad on visit visas and trap them without even returning their passports to go home. Nearly 30 were duped in this manner. Sitting ducks before frauds.
According to the Cybercrime police, they have received 27 petitions regarding online job fraud and registered four cases in Thiruvananthapuram from January till date. “The recent job scam shows that hackers have started creating look-alike job websites luring aspirants. After taking them into confidence, the fraudsters ask them for money,” said T Shyamlal, DSP, Cybercrime police station, Thiruvananthapuram. Genuine companies may have written exams or interviews before appointing someone to a post they never demand money, he said.
The officer added that fraud is also being committed through matrimonial websites. Attempts to defraud people through social media platforms such as Facebook are also on the rise. Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner Kumar Upadhyaya said fake job portals are being created targeting people who have lost jobs due to the pandemic. “The pandemic has resulted in a large number of layoffs. Several job scams are being reported wherein fake appointment letters from companies based abroad are being sent. However, aspirants realize the peril only after a few months. In most cases, they don’t even register a complaint with the police,” said Upadhyaya.
10 Common types of internet fraud
India's internet users are growing day by day and it is expected to reach 627 million in 2019. This is mainly because now the internet is easily accessible and less expensive. One can easily access the internet using their smartphone. Not just urban areas, there is also rapid growth of internet in rural areas. As the number of people using the internet is on the rise, internet frauds are also increasing and many people have lost their money to this fraud.
What is internet fraud?
Internet fraud is a type of fraud which makes use of the internet. It is not a single fraud, there are numerous frauds under that. Internet fraudsters are everywhere and they come up with innovative tricks to cheat people and wipe out money from their bank account. In this blog, we will discuss the type of internet frauds
Types of internet fraud
1. Phishing or email scam
It is a method used by fraudsters to steal your personal information. Under this fraud, fraudsters send you emails by posing as a genuine or reputed company. The primary intention of sending those emails is to steal your bank details. These emails usually will have a link or attachment. If you click on those links, you will be taken to a fake website. The fake website will ask you to provide your sensitive information like card details, UPI code and other bank details. Also, clicking on such links will lead to a virus attack on your computer.
It is one of the biggest internet frauds since the past few years. Under this, fraudsters set up fake online shopping portals with the intention of cheating innocent people of their hard-earned money. In the website, they display attractive product at a very cheap rate. But, after the purchase is made by paying the money, either the fake product is delivered or the product is not delivered at all. These websites will not have any return or refund policies and also there will be no customer support team to contact.
3. Identity theft
Under identity theft, your personal information is stolen by fraudsters through the internet and used to apply for a personal loan, two-wheeler loan or a credit card with a bank. When loans are availed in your name, you will be responsible for its repayment. Banks will send you the notice for repayment. If the loan is not repaid it will have a bad impact on your credit score and you will be marked a loan defaulter. Also, the stolen information of yours can be used to create fake social media accounts.
4. Work from home scam
Work from home scam is one of the serious internet frauds. Under this, fraudsters dupe people who are looking for work from home opportunities by promising that they will earn handsome money, just by working for a few hours from home. To register for the scheme, job seekers will be asked to deposit a certain amount of money for job kit which is useful for the work. After the money is deposited, there will be no track of employers.
5. Lottery fraud
Lottery fraud is one among the top three internet frauds in India. Under lottery fraud, fraudsters call you or send emails and messages stating you have won a lottery worth rupee some crore. To receive the lottery money, you will be asked to transfer money online in the name of tax. Sometimes you will be asked to pay money by visiting fake websites. When you try to make payment using those websites, all your card details will be stolen.
6. Matrimonial frauds
In this busy lifestyle, people prefer online matrimonial sites to find their life partners. But the sad part here is a lot of people lose lakhs of money while finding their soulmates on the matrimonial sites. Fraudsters dupe innocent people by creating fake profiles. Also, there are many gangs set up to carry out this fraud. Under this fraud, first, fraudsters make victims believe them. Once the trust is created, money is looted from the victims.
7. Tax scams
This fraud normally takes place during the tax season when taxpayers will be waiting for their tax refund. Fraudsters send fake refund SMS and emails to taxpayers claiming to be from the income tax department. These notifications are mainly sent with the intention of collecting their personal information like login details of I-T Department website, bank details and so on. To credit the refund money to your bank account, you will be asked to provide your sensitive bank information.
8. Credit card reward point fraud
Reward points or loyalty points are offered by the credit card companies to promote the usage of a credit card. Frauds are also taken place in the name of credit card reward point. Fraudsters call credit cardholders claiming to be from their credit card company and tell them that they would help them in redeeming their credit card reward point. They create urgency among cardholders stating offer will end very soon. To redeem the reward points, cardholders will be asked to provide their card details along with OTP. Fraudsters carry out fraudulent transactions using these details.
9. Frauds on Online websites
Frauds on have become very common and many people have lost their money while buying and selling products on the website. The fraud which normally takes place on is, fraudsters pose as Army personnel and post their advertisement on the website. Fraudsters use the stolen Id card of army personnel to make people trust them. They collect money from the buyer for the advertised product but they will never deliver the product. Here goodwill associated with the armed forces is used by fraudsters to cheat people of their hard-earned money.
10. Social media frauds
With the number of people using social media, social media frauds are on the rise. Cyberbullying is one of the biggest social media frauds to which many teenagers have fallen prey. Under cyberbullying social media sites are used to bully people. Also, there are many other social media frauds like a Facebook friend fraud.
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