Be cautious while making donations, say Hyderabad cybercrime cops

Cops advise people to crosscheck request before transferring money

Hyderabad: With several individuals and groups posting request for funds on charity donation and fund raising websites, the cybercrime police has advised people to cross check the request before transferring money.

Since the last few weeks, requests on fund raising platforms have significantly increased with people seeking money for providing oxygen cylinders, concentrators, medicines, pay medical bills etc, for Covid affected patients.

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In fact, a few requests received good response with the donors contributing generously. “With a wave of sympathy around, scammers will utilise such situations for their own benefit,” said KVM Prasad, ACP Cybercrime Hyderabad.

The officials said that though not many cases of these frauds were reported in the city, scams during such calamities could not be ruled out considering the exponential growth of online charities. “In other States such frauds are regular with scammers collecting up a crore rupees on pretext of humanitarian work like feeding the homeless, providing shelter and other activities,” he said.

Now, with the second wave of Covid, fraudsters could exploit the situation. “One has to be careful or else they end up donating to the wrong group or person,” the police advise.

Apart from approaching through fundraising websites, the scammers also try to reach to the prospective donors through social media platforms, emails and text messages. The police advise people to thoroughly check the background of the charity group or individual before making donations.

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