MANGALURU: Dakshina Kannada district is known for its literate population. However, when it comes to online and social media frauds, ‘educated persons’ too are becoming victims.
As per cyber crime sleuths, at least two cyber crimes are happening daily. While some are brought to the notice of police, others go unreported. The latest victim of cyber crime is former MLA J R Lobo, who is also a retired KAS officer. He lost Rs 49,000 to a scamster who called and claimed to be an employee of State Bank of India. On the pretext of updating Lobo’s bank account, the caller got the details of his debit card, including PIN and OTP. The money was later siphoned off in three different transactions.
“Most of the people who get cheated through online frauds are educated. They have become victims in frauds involving ATM PINs (phishing), online matrimony, jobs, gifts, and online shopping. These victims, despite being aware and having read about such scams, are tricked by scamsters,” an official attached to the cyber crime police station told TOI.
The official, who explained the modus operandi for bank frauds based on their investigations, said most of the accused hail from Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and northeastern states. They call gullible people and introduce themselves as either a bank employee or a manager. They usually converse in Hindi to take their victims into confidence, so much so that they part with their account details. Before calling their target, scamsters do a thorough research about them, the official added.
The other scam which is common in the district is happening through job sites. The official said that whenever a fresh graduate seeking employment uploads his/ her resume on online job portals, fraudsters call the aspirant, and sweet-talk into believing them, either by complimenting their qualification or promising them good pay package. Fraudsters also take online interviews to gain confidence. At end of the conversation, they ask the aspirants to deposit a lump sum. Once their job is done, fraudsters remain incommunicado.
As per cyber crime sleuths, at least two cyber crimes are happening daily. While some are brought to the notice of police, others go unreported. The latest victim of cyber crime is former MLA J R Lobo, who is also a retired KAS officer. He lost Rs 49,000 to a scamster who called and claimed to be an employee of State Bank of India. On the pretext of updating Lobo’s bank account, the caller got the details of his debit card, including PIN and OTP. The money was later siphoned off in three different transactions.
“Most of the people who get cheated through online frauds are educated. They have become victims in frauds involving ATM PINs (phishing), online matrimony, jobs, gifts, and online shopping. These victims, despite being aware and having read about such scams, are tricked by scamsters,” an official attached to the cyber crime police station told TOI.
The official, who explained the modus operandi for bank frauds based on their investigations, said most of the accused hail from Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and northeastern states. They call gullible people and introduce themselves as either a bank employee or a manager. They usually converse in Hindi to take their victims into confidence, so much so that they part with their account details. Before calling their target, scamsters do a thorough research about them, the official added.
The other scam which is common in the district is happening through job sites. The official said that whenever a fresh graduate seeking employment uploads his/ her resume on online job portals, fraudsters call the aspirant, and sweet-talk into believing them, either by complimenting their qualification or promising them good pay package. Fraudsters also take online interviews to gain confidence. At end of the conversation, they ask the aspirants to deposit a lump sum. Once their job is done, fraudsters remain incommunicado.
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