Repeated cyber frauds rattling Kerala
Despite awareness and warnings being raised regularly, cyber frauds are not uncommon in Kerala. In the most recent incident, a fifty-nine-year-old housewife from Mattancherry lost Rs. 2.88 crore in a cyber fraud. The scammers executed the fraud in about two months. The fraud gang had even set up a fake court, a fake judge and a fake witness to make everything look real. The fraud started when the housewife received a phone call claiming to be from the Tilak Nagar police station in Mumbai. The scammers threatened that the housewife had been found to be involved in a money laundering case related to Jet Airways!
The housewife would not have fallen victim to the fraud if she had informed the police about such phone calls as soon as they came. The fraud gang, which subjected the housewife to virtual arrest, also produced her in an online court. Surprisingly, even though the country's official investigation agencies and police departments have repeatedly stated that there is no such thing as virtual arrest, people are still falling for scams. Even if it is a case related to black money, it should not be resolved by paying money through the account. The gang, which had defrauded the housewife of Rs 2.88 crore, also informed her that she would get a police clearance certificate if she went to the nearest police station. All this is done to ensure credibility.
It became clear to the housewife that a huge financial fraud had taken place only when she went to the station to accept this 'certificate' as per this instruction. Since fraudsters mostly operate in other countries, it is not easy to catch them. The only way to escape from such scams is to immediately inform the cyber police if such threatening messages come, no matter what the 'threat' is. Another measure is not to pick up calls from unfamiliar phone numbers. Many hacking groups that take control of bank accounts, personal information, etc., by giving misleading information and taking all the money in the account are operating in the country. Therefore, we should be most careful not to click on unknown links.
There are also many people who commit fraud by transferring malware to mobile phones. Frauds are also being committed using AI. There is also a practice of calling in the voice of family members and asking for OTP and PIN numbers. Using free networks unnecessarily is the same as inviting danger. Try to browse using only authorized Wi-Fi networks. Downloading questionable apps is also dangerous.
Similarly, the government should appoint cyber police teams with modern training to prevent recurring cyber frauds. If a person is a victim of fraud, the time to report it is of utmost importance, so special care should be taken not to delay it. The Home Department should consider all necessary measures to prevent repeated cyber fraud in Kerala at any cost.