Cyber frauds lay investment bait to trap victims

Around 650 cyber fraud cases pertained to investment fraud with the amount lost said to be around Rs 22.60 crore followed by 672 cases of customer care fraud (Rs 5.6 crore) and 572 cases of advertisement fraud (Rs 4.90 crore)

Hyderabad: Among different kinds of modus operandi being adopted by cyber fraudsters, the gullible victims are found to be walking more into the traps laid in the guise of investment, advertisement and customer care.

As per the Cyberabad Police cybercrime data for 2022, around 650 cases pertained to investment fraud with the amount lost said to be around Rs 22.60 crore followed by 672 cases of customer care fraud (Rs 5.6 crore) and 572 cases of advertisement fraud (Rs 4.90 crore).

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Online trading in stocks is a common trap in investment fraud. Fake websites, which direct victims to a link are sent and using them bank credentials are collected. Of late, fraudsters are found to be luring victims into investing in cryptocurrency trading.

“Profits are shown initially for small investments and once a person puts higher investments, the fraudsters collect the money and log out,” said Ritiraj, DCP (Cybercrime Wing) Cyberabad Police. In customer care frauds, the suspects are found to be using ‘boosters’ to make the fake website pop up when searching for the genuine one.

Unlike previous gangs from Jamtara and Bharatpur, cybercrime officials said new teams are getting into business from Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha and Rajasthan. “New gangs are now active from Nalanda, Katrisarai and Warsli in Bihar and similar gangs are operating from West Bengal, Rajasthan and Odisha. Professional gangs are also operating from Ghaziabad and Meerut.

Unfortunately, most of the time, these gangs are not connected to any crime there, hence the local police are not aware of their presence,” the DCP said.