A spate of complaints about online frauds in the city has prompted City Police Commissioner H. Venkatesh to issue a note of caution to the public, asking them to be careful about their online activities and dealings with strangers on the Web.
The latest instance of people falling prey to such fraud, Mr. Venkatesh said, was of a police civil officer who received a telephone call from a person claiming to be a bank executive. The ‘executive’ said there was a problem with the ATM of the bank in which the policeman had an account. He sought the debit card details of the cop, who unsuspectingly parted with it, including the PIN number. A few hours later, Rs.15,000 was withdrawn from his account in an online transaction.
“We have even educated people against falling into such traps. We have asked people not to part with their credit/debit card details. Online lottery and job frauds too are coming back in a major way.
You should not respond to e-mails or messages that say you have won a lottery worth millions, unless you are sure of the authenticity. As for job frauds, there are many who had deposited money in foreign accounts, only to realise later that it was a bogus recruitment agency or company,” he said.
e-commerce sites
Restraint on deals on e-commerce sites too has been advised.
“People order for goods on some sites and strangers in faraway places manage to trick them into sending money online. The product never reaches them,” Mr. Venkatesh said, adding that e-mails purportedly from the Reserve Bank of India too had to be dealt with caution.
On social networking site Facebook, many people approach users in the name of voluntary and charity organisations.
There have been instances of Facebook friends asking for one’s account details to transfer money to be distributed among the poor here, of course with the promise of a commission.
An initial sum would have to be deposited, and once that is done, the friend would disappear.
“The public, on getting such mails, can seek advice from the Cyber Cell before they respond.
- Public asked to verify suspicious mails with Cyber Cell
Cyber Cell tips on www.tvmcitypolice.
gov.in/cyber_cell.html
The public can access Cyber Cell tips on
www.tvmcitypolice.
gov.in/cyber_cell.html
