DailyPost 2886
ENT SURGEON DUPED OF 9 CRORES
Is the increase in cyber crime / scam directly proportional to gullibility of the victims, in a way general masses? Is lack of knowledge and processes going against them? Or is it super greed in quite a few cases? It can be any one of these or any permutation / combination of these. The pertinent point is that the cyber scamsters have mastered the art of befooling and even for the most discerning eye they can create a smokescreen. You would have heard of the FedEx, Customs, Police role play by the cyber scamsters, their famed digital arrests and the booty they are able to escape with exceptional finesse.
Maybe taking a cue from them and playing with tech in a more professional way are the investment fraudsters. The search for higher and higher returns fuels this scam. They are not ready to accept the fact that everything in the digital world cannot be verified and that too at a speed we want and with barely any expertise at our command. Our less than crude understanding of the backend of an app and of investments pushes us into the vortex of it. Recently, cyber criminals con Hyderabad ENT surgeon of nearly Rs.9 crores in an investment fraud.
The doctor fell into a trap when he came across an ad browsing on Facebook and expressed his interest in stock trading. He submitted his details and then the criminals got in touch with him and made him transfer money on several occasions. He had received calls from four persons claiming to be executives of top companies like JP Morgan Chase Securities regarding trading in stocks. They claimed to be specializing in institutional trading for profits. They also claimed to be sub-brokers of prominent institutions yet conduct real-time trades through their in-house apps. They satisfied the victim that they were compliant with all regulatory agencies.
They also raked the confidentiality issues to gain further faith. The victim was asked to download the app through the links sent and he started trading through them. He was allowed to withdraw money a few times from the asset amount displayed on the app which generated immense confidence in him. He invested more and more ending with over Rs. 8.6 crores from May to a few days ago. Now when he tried to withdraw the returns, the scamsters asked him to pay 20% on the profit dividend and another 30% for short term gains tax, for him becoming eligible to withdraw. They harassed him to pay percentages as being dictated by them. At this juncture he realised he had been duped. He then lodged a complaint and the case is under investigation.
IN THE DIGITAL WORLD, WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW, YOU DON’T KNOW, IS THE ONLY SAFE DICTUM.
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.