Online Scams: Tambaram Police Caution Residents About Online Scams | Chennai News | #cybercrime | #computerhacker

Chennai: Cautioning people about spike in online frauds and scams, Tambaram commissioner of police A Amalraj has said people should not links received from unknown sources and numbers.The alert comes in the wake of a spike in cyber crime. In Tambaram commissionerate alone, more than 200 cyber crime complaints have been received this year, wherein people have lost nearly ₹20 crore. Police have managed to recover ₹5 crore so far.Most of the complaints pertain to One-Time Password (OTP) fraud, work from home job fraud, matrimonial fraud and other scams. Fraudsters lure their victims to social media platforms by offering part-time jobs where the recipient could earn in thousands by working from home. They are asked to do seemingly simple tasks like liking, subscribing to YouTube videos, writing Google reviews, hotel and travel reviews, crypto trading / investment in fake websites created by them.While most of the victims are job-aspirants, housewives and those already employed in the IT sector also fall prey to such offers, police officials say.Explaining the modus operandi, officials say initially the victims would receive meagre sums for completion of tasks. This motivates them to get involved more. Then they are moved to a bigger social media group along with more than 50 participants. There, the victims are asked to pay a subscription for getting tasks, so as to get better returns. The fraudsters then post fake screenshots of people earning more money and then give time-bound tasks and make the victims fail in such tasks. Citing ‘failure, the fraudsters would then demand ‘penalty’ by freezing the amount already earned. Victims could contact cybercrime helpline number 1930 or register their complaint in National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal – www.cybercrime.gov.in.
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