A resident of West Delhi fell victim to an elaborate fraud, losing Rs. 9 lakh to scammers posing as officials from the electricity department. The incident occurred on December 26 and highlights how the reputation of government departments is being used to lure victims into online scams.
The victim’s troubles began when he visited his local electricity department office to submit a name-change application for his power connection. Shortly after completing the formalities, he received a call from an unknown number. The caller introduced himself as a representative of the power distribution company (discom) and informed the victim about a supposed pending electricity bill payment of just Rs. 13, reports India Today.
The caller instructed the victim to transfer the small amount online to resolve the matter. Trusting the caller, the victim complied. However, this initial interaction was merely the beginning of a well-orchestrated scam. The fraudster contacted the victim again, directing him to download an application via a link in a text message.
Believing the app would assist with his name-change application, the victim unwittingly granted the scammers remote access to his smartphone by following their instructions.
Between December 29 and December 31, the scammers stole Rs. 9 lakh from the victim’s accounts through unauthorised transactions. The victim realised he had been duped only after noticing these suspicious withdrawals. He promptly reported the incident to the police and registered a First Information Report (FIR).
India, with a population of around 1.4 billion, is a hotspot of cybercrimes and online scams. Only recently, it was reported that over 90 Indian government websites were hosting scam links.
Another prominent scam, known as digital arrest, is also wreaking the country. A BSF inspector fell victim to a digital arrest scam and lost Rs. 71 lakh.
Although government agencies and private companies have begun countering online scams and frauds, a lot needs to be done. For instance, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issued an order to telecom service providers (TSPs) to block international incoming calls displaying Indian number.
Additionally, the DoT also introduced a two-tiered system to detect and block incoming international spoof calls. The DoT also blocked 1.92 crore SIM cards and 2.2 lakh mobiles across India to combat cybercrime.
Similarly, the Telecom Authority of India (TRAI) rolled out tougher rules to combat spam calls in India. Last year, TRAI ordered telecom operators to inspect text messages for web addresses, links to over-the-top (OTT) platforms, phone numbers, and app installation files.
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