“Members of public have been cautioned against making any remittance towards participation in such schemes/offers from unknown entities since such remittances are illegal,” an RBI advisory said.
“Any resident in India collecting and effecting/remitting such payments directly or indirectly outside India is liable to be proceeded against for contravention of the Foreign Exchange Management Act,” it said.
They are also liable for violation of regulations relating to "know your customer" norms and anti-money laundering standards. The central bank has advised the general public to immediately file a complaint with local police or cyber crime authorities against such fictitious offers.
These offers of receiving huge sums of money from abroad come in various forms, including lottery winnings, remittance of cheap funds in foreign currency by so-called foreign entities, individuals or to Indian residents acting as representatives of such entities.
Fraudsters initially ask potential victims to deposit small sums of money for different official sounding reasons like processing fees, transaction fees, tax clearance charges, conversion charges, clearing fees and the like. The victims are asked to deposit the money in certain bank accounts.
“Many residents have already become victims and have lost huge sums of money by falling for such fictitious offers,” the RBI said.
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