Fraud Alert

 

Dear Friends hope you have completed both doses of vaccination if not please complete the same in this year itself so as we can stay COVID free in 2022

My apologies for taking a little longer to publish a new blog, due to some commitment could not manage for some time but yes will bounce back with something big shortly. Now the question is what to offer today? Till now I have been spreading awareness about wildlife but today thought to spread awareness about online fraud which I recently experienced so that my readers don't fall into the trap of such fraud attempts

Recently I came across a very scary incident and hence thought to publish it on a public platform to save others from such incident, let me directly get into the details, please read each line so as you understand the modus operandi and save yourself from a possible attempt in future 

 Exchange Online

Let me begin with what I have gone through and how I manage to escape from it then I will put my thoughts on other aspects of this topic

So let me start the story – Last Sunday I decided to sell old furniture, initially, I had contacted a secondhand dealer near my house, his offer was not lucrative so I thought to try online portal to get better price hence I opted for one of the famous portals for online buying and selling

The process to activate an account and upload free advertisement is very easy (Even fraudsters can get in easily with dummy details); with either email or mobile, you can quickly login into it

Upon login it allowed me to upload one free advertisement so I uploaded pictures and quoted Rs. Five thousand for the dining table. 

Within a minute started getting calls for an inquiry, it looked a little strange to me but thought dealers remain active and may approach early than individuals. This was my first experience of offering online and had no idea of such an ill motive of someone

 

The person called me on WhatsApp, introduced himself as Amit Kumar (9394160716), and said he is a resident of Bhiwandi and is a dealer of second-hand furniture and he is interested in my offer

He also asked if I have more furniture to offer, I shared pictures of other furniture as well and I asked for a total quote of Nineteen Thousand cash. He agreed immediately without any single rupee bargain, this created some bit of doubt in my mind hence I ask him only for cash

The fraudster insisted on half online transfer and balance as cash when he will arrange pickup, I agreed to 50% online transfer and balance later. He said he will transfer on PAYTM/GPAY etc and I said I am ok with PAYTM

Now see the modus operandi – He thought he got a fish in the net

He said to continue on WhatsApp and scan the QR code sent by him, the moment I scanned the App showed the “PAY” button. This I noticed and denied to act further. I said why it shows pay?. It should directly transfer money and should not ask anything. Mr. fraudster said he is transferring using a machine at his end and hence it requires action from my end, he added that money from his end is already processed and will be credited to my account only if I submit the same from my app

I told him just scrap the deal this is not correct, to gain my trust he said let me transfer Rs.2 after that I should follow the same process to get the credit of ten thousand

This time I got a QR code of Rs. 2, I scanned that and again noticed that App showed the “PAY” button, I did not click any button still Rs. 2 got credited to my wallet. this was enough to gain trust, now he started insisting and pushing me to follow this process for initiating ten thousand 

He thought I am trapped, now he asked me to scan a QR code of ten thousand, he said Sir now you know the procedure, please go ahead for 10k, on scanning the app lead to the “PAY” button, now I was very sure that something is surely wrong, I refused to enter anything; I told it is fraud because for receiving the money no action required then why the app is diverting me to PAY? I told him that I don't want to go ahead and let's cancel the same

When I refused, he started shouting that 10k is debited from his account hence I have to complete the transaction and proceed further. He threatened me with a police complaint and said give me 10k back. He immediately removed QR codes from WhatsApp when I offered him to approach the police station together. I was vigilant on the usage of my wallet hence could manage to escape else for sure I could have made a loss of 10k

Let me ask you a question, why Rs. 2 was credited to the wallet but not 10k? For both amounts process was absolutely the same. The point to be noted here is that he actually transferred Rs. 2 directly from another mobile number which was without any QR code, I realized this when I checked the details of credit in my wallet. Such as a smart way to gain the trust and trap immediately

In just a matter of 5 minutes, 10k would have gone, we need to be extra cautious when we use digital platforms for any dealing. Especially when such platforms are not strong in terms of verification and don’t provide any service, it is just an open platform where anyone can easily enter and take advantage of the lack of security

The intention is not to blame any specific platform or blame the digital world, just wanted to share details of incidents that happened and to spread awareness. The digital platform has its own advantage but for that, we have to be vigilant. Flexibility comes with the risk of fraud hence be extra careful when you enter into any such dealings

In the next section let me help you with points we need to take care of while dealing on digital platform 

Chain se Sona hai toh Jaag Jao

1. Check how strong these digital platforms are. For example, by just providing an email id allowing us to use the platform freely, the risk is high

2. If portals are free with basic or no verification, the risk is high

3. If a person is approaching immediately and accepting everything at one go, the risk is high 

4. Don’t scan QR code

5. Don’t entre or provide CVV or password, for receiving money these details are not required, this is for sure fraud

6. Fraudsters most of the time use WhatsApp calling and use free WIFI available at places like stations so ignore if you receive calls from WhatsApp

7. Ask for providing complete details from the dealer, if they are not providing you name, address or registration number, etc, it is fraud for sure

8.    Don’t share bank details, credit/Debit card details, if it is asked, it is a fraud

9. Spread awareness if you notice any such incident

In the end, let me summarize, digital platforms have their own limitation, verification may depend on the business model and many other aspects. We need to be vigilant and cautious while dealing with the online world. If you come across any kind of fraud then please spread awareness so as we can save others from the fraudsters   
 
Request you share feedback on btwildart@gmail.om

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