Despite all its positive impacts, the digital revolution has also triggered a massive rise in white-collar crime involving educated young people who are perhaps sniffing around your digital footprint as you read this story.
Over the last few months several city youngsters have been hit by these financial swindlers who use extensive measures to cover their tracks and evade arrest.
An employee at a private firm in the city, Kamlesh Kumar, fell victim to a stock market scam. Kumar, who occasionally invests in the stock market, received a WhatsApp message offering guaranteed big-ticket returns. Tempted by the promise, he transferred Rs 10,000 to the suggested third-party app.
Within hours, his app balance shot up to Rs 16,000. However, when he attempted to withdraw the money, the app demanded more funds. After refusing, the app stopped functioning. “I realised too late that it was a scam,” Kumar said.
Homemaker Ritu Bhardwaj shares her ordeal, which began when a friend recommended an app that promised daily returns of 2% on small investments.
Bhardwaj initially invested Rs 2,000 and received returns for a few days. She then saw financial products priced up to Rs 1 lakh, offering 8–10% daily returns.
Many of her friends invested Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000. The app eventually shut down, leaving the investors empty-handed. “I only lost Rs 2,000, but my friends lost their life savings,” Bhardwaj said.
A college student, Sarita Malviya, says she fell for a phishing scam when she received a call claiming she had won a free annual phone recharge plan. The caller instructed her to transfer Rs 1,000 to claim the prize. Without verifying the authenticity, Malviya made the payment via UPI. “The number became unreachable, and I realised I had been scammed,” she said.
In another case, a man who wished to remain anonymous received a call while napping on a Sunday. The caller convinced him to share a one-time password (OTP), claiming it was for a legitimate purpose. The man later discovered that Rs 5,000 had been withdrawn from his account to pay an electricity bill in Gujarat. He reported the incident to the police.
Experts say many victims avoid reporting cybercrimes due to the fear of social embarrassment. Swarmed by a rise in cyber frauds, authorities are running a massive awareness campaign to educate people on the modus operandi of these thugs.
The government of India expects victims to report online frauds on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal or a dedicated helpline by dialling 1930.
