The cybercrime police cautioned people against increasing online trading scams, in which several people have been losing money. Recently, a person from Visalakshi Nagar area in the city was duped of over ₹64 lakh.
According to the city police officials, people should not respond to unwanted/suspicious links or messages which they receive on their mobile phones. People are also being deceived by posts on the social media, they said. Once people respond to such links, they will be trapped, said the cybercrime police.
In a recent case reported in the city, a person had clicked a link which he received in WhatsApp from an unknown number and he was added to a group ‘Stock Exchange’. Some persons used to provide information and tips on how to get huge returns from investments. Some members of the group lured the victim to invest money informing that they had received profits. In this way, the person was cheated to the tune of ₹64 lakh.
As per the city police, after making initial profits, the victims are lured to make more investments. The accused then show a message indicating that the money was deposited in the bank accounts of the victims. This is done to lure victims to invest more.
When victims try to withdraw their profit amount, they are told that this is not possible as per the company guidelines, until they reach a certain limit, which is generally a huge amount.
The cybercrime police said that everyone is not eligible to give lectures and provide tips on investments or stock markets without proper certification. The police also said that only Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) registered investment advisors are allowed to conduct such classes. But unfortunately, many are unaware of the fact and are duped by miscreants whom they meet in the social media. The police appealed to the people not to install any unauthorised apps being forwarded by the fraudsters regarding trading.
Police Commissioner A. Ravi Shankar and Joint Commissioner of Police K. Fakeerappa appealed to people to approach the nearest police station, cybercrime police station or even the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) website – https://cybercrime.gov.in, if they are a victim of cyber fraud. People can also contact helpline 1930.
In Visakhapatnam alone, the number of cybercrime complaints registered through NCRP portal or 1930 was 11,319 since the year 2020. The total amount frozen during transaction is ₹6.3 crore which belongs to 1,326 victims.
Published - March 05, 2024 08:17 pm IST
