Fraudsters making hay

The latest ploy is digital arrest, which causes both financial loss and mental distress.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

“The rise of the planet of fraudsters: the digital age” looks like the title for an upcoming big budget movie, but it isn’t. It has become the reality of the times as digital transactions rise with no cash or paper trails. Everything is in image or document format stored in multiple databases. The much sensitive issue of data security seems to be getting not enough attention.

The happenings in the past few years have put everyone on shaky ground. These include breach of personal data, fake money doubling schemes and job offers, honey traps, and mimicking service providers to gain access to confidential information to siphon off hard-earned money from bank accounts in seconds.

The latest ploy is digital arrest, which causes both financial loss and mental distress. The recorded warning played while making a call every time conveys the seriousness of the state of affairs as hundreds of crores of money is being wiped out and the number of cybercrimes is skyrocketing. Educated and experienced professionals are also falling prey to these traps, which point to the glaring loopholes in the system being well exploited by criminals.

My wife and I visited an exhibition, and at the entrance, there was a lucky dip bag in which one had to drop a slip with details such as name and contact number. The very next day, I got a call from a vacation provider. They invited us as lucky dip winners.

When we entered their office, they asked us to have a seat and a salesperson came and started explaining their vacation schemes. Similar seat and desk arrangements were all over the hall and most of the couples were engaged in listening to the schemes. Suddenly there were cheers and celebrations and everyone started clapping and the salesperson announced, “Welcome onboard, Mr. and Mrs.”

The one sitting at our table explained that it’s a one-time offer of ₹25,000 if we registered then and there itself, and the remaining amount can be paid in flexible instalments. When we said we need time to think over, he said, “This offer is not valid after you go out of the office and if you want to register through regular mode, the one-time cost of registration would be 1.5 lakh!”

This was a pressure tactic employed after inviting people on the pretext of a lucky dip and collecting their personal data in the name of an exhibition. The exhibition runners had compromised the personal data. My wife advised me to invest as we could go on a tour twice a year. But I was feeling something fishy about the whole exercise.

So, in the meantime, when the salesperson withdrew from us and went inside, I just googled the name of the company and started reading user feedback. I was startled to understand that the company had so many bad reviews and complaints about fooling people and providing underrated services. So, that time gap helped me make a right call and when the salesperson came back, I squarely rejected their offer and asked them to stop fooling people. So, I had narrowly escaped from being a scapegoat to a fraud scheme.

I think it’s time we all became well informed about the unravelling trends in cybercrimes and protect ourselves by being cautious while sharing personal data and using social media and personal devices. The police and governments have to double their efforts to contain cybercrimes which has the potential to pinch the whole economy itself.

ashokbbalakrishna@gmail.com