The Cyber Crime Police Station registered 10,131 cases in 2019, up from 5,036 in 2018 and 2,023 the year before. Cases related to gifts, iPhones, OLX and loan offers topped all the cyber frauds last year. The most commonly used mode of cheating in this category is stealing an identity where fraudsters use the names and identities of well-known persons to swindle money.
The most recent case busted by the cyber crime police station had a gang from Rajasthan that used commissioner Bhaskar Rao’s identity and photo to close a deal on OLX. The cops also found out that most of the QR code frauds reported from across the city over the past year were committed by a gang of five from Rajasthan.
Frauds tamper with software
Explaining how these fraudsters operate, Commissioner Bhaskar Rao tells Metrolife, “In QR Code payment, fraudsters design the code in such a way that instead of you trying to make a payment, the money in your account gets drained. So instead of you receiving the money, you end up losing it. The fraudsters tweak the software and cheat people. It is mostly the IT class who get cheated because ordinary people still use paper money.”
Rao also says that fraudsters constantly track new users in OLX, Quikr and other websites. They pose as buyers and contact people selling furniture, motorbikes, cars and electronic gadgets, he adds. “People who shop online must check their SMSes to see if they have received any communication from their respective banks before making any payment. You have to also thoroughly read the conditions on these shopping portals before clicking on the “agree to conditions” button. People blindly agree to the conditions, without knowing where it has come from and who has sent it,” cautions Rao.
He further states that fraudsters usually steal the identity of army officers and top police officers to pass off as trustworthy.
“After zeroing in on the victim, the fraudsters will open an account in the victim’s name on OLX. They will surf Facebook and get a picture of the victim and use it in the account. This is to make the case believable. People who upload their pictures multiple times on Facebook, without restricting the access to them, are potential targets,” warns Rao.
He adds, “There must be an encrypting device that allows people who want to download your picture from Facebook. People must be aware of who their friends are in the list of contacts and mustn’t easily agree to make new friends on social networking sites.”
Stealing identity
Dr A Parashivamurthy, ADG and Additional Commissioner of Police, Crimes, Bengaluru City points out that stealing the identity of a person is also prevalent in the forgery of documents and altering land records. “Earlier, we had a case where the size of the land was altered in the sale deed and Khata was made for the same. This leads to fraudulent money transactions,” he says. He also adds that names, age of persons and even the birth certificates are tampered with to gain financial benefits.
The fraudsters, who steal identities, always operate in gangs. A senior officer with the Cyber Crime Police Station in the city tells Metrolife, “The recent gang that was arrested from Rajasthan on charges of identity theft among other things kept changing their phones and sim cards. They even used a 15-year-old as bait to wriggle out of the crime. When juveniles are brought into the picture, the cases take a different turn. They work in a large group because it is easier to network.”
The gangs also target the bank accounts of senior citizens and women, especially those that have been lying idle for a long time and use it to receive and transact money.
“They strike a deal with the account holder, promising him or her a certain sum as commission. The unsuspecting account holder falls for it and unknowingly becomes a party to the crime. They use multiple accounts and multiple sim cards,” informs the officer.
Heed to this advice
City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao has this advice
Turn off your Internet data when not in use. This could be used by frauds to snoop into your phone.
If you are shopping online, check for SMSes from banks confirming that the transaction has been completed the proper way.
Do not upload multiple photos on Facebook and other social media websites. Grant access to photos to only friends and family.
If you are shopping on OLX read the instructions carefully before clicking on the “agree to conditions” buttons. This could be a fraudulent website.
Punishment for identity theft?
According to section 66C whoever, fraudulently or dishonestly make use of the electronic signature, password or any other unique identification feature of any other person, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years.
Types of cases in Bengaluru
December 19, 2019: A young techie bought a fridge from OLX and realised that she was cheated when she was delivered a toaster instead of a fridge. She lost Rs 25,000 in the deal.
January 2, 2020: A man, posing as a classmate of a woman in Bengaluru, claimed that her friend has sent her a diamond ring from the US and asked her to pay a lakh towards customs.
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