Srinagar: Kashmir Cyber Police on Tuesday said that it has successfully recovered Rs 13 lakh, which were stolen by scamsters in multiple cyber frauds, including UPI and OTP scams, in the valley.
A police spokesperson said that Cyber Police Kashmir have been receiving complaints regarding various online frauds, scams and other Cyber related crimes on routine basis.
”During the past one month, Cyber Police Station Kashmir Zone, Srinagar received multiple complaints wherein complainants have been duped by fraudsters in OTP and UPI frauds,” he said.
He said in such one incident, a complainant was duped of Rs 2 lakh through UPI scam stating that he wanted to seek a refund for the cancellation of his ticket.
”The complainant was struggling to find a customer care number and obtained a number from the Google search results. He immediately received a back call and was told that the refund amount could be transferred immediately via Google Pay and he would have to download a mobile application called Team Viewer Quick Support on his cell phone,” the spokesperson said.
He said following the steps of fraudster, the victim immediately downloaded the app on his cell phone. ”The fraudster also directed him to open his banking app and taking control of his cell phone through Team Viewer Quick Support app withdrew an amount of Rs 2 lakh from his bank account. The victim after realising that he has been trapped in a cyber fraud immediately reported the fraud to Cyber Police Station, Kashmir Zone, Srinagar,” he said.
He said acting swiftly, Cyber Police Kashmir with strenuous efforts were able to save the amount of the victim.
The spokesperson said that multiple complaints were received regarding OTP scams wherein the complainants got phone calls from fraudsters claiming to be officers from the bank. ”These fraudsters convinced the complainants and informed them that their debit cards have been blocked and are due for renewal. In order to renew the debit cards the complainants were asked to share the card details along with six digits OTP received on their cell phones,” he said.
He said the victims having no knowledge about these scams shared their card details along with OTP due to which an amount of Rs 11 lakh were deducted from their bank accounts.
”The complainants contacted the Cyber Police Kashmir immediately and with strenuous efforts, Cyber Police Kashmir was able to block amount Rs 11 lakh,” he said, adding the money has been refunded into the complainants’ accounts.
He said amidst Covid-19 pandemic when the public is dependent on cyber platforms, the vulnerability of getting trapped into cyber scams/frauds gets increased. ”General public is advised to refrain from downloading any remote access apps like Team viewer quick support, Anydesk App etc. or dialling fake helpline or customer care numbers found on Google search engine. These legitimate apps are remote software tool, which provides third party a complete hold of the users’ cell phones/computer,” he said.
He said general public is advised to be aware of these latest scams and not to fell prey to these fraudsters. ”If you or your family member gets Corona positive, you may receive a fraud call from cyber criminals that Covid-19 help will be provided, moreover fraudsters may also ask for an advance payment and promise to provide an oxygen cylinder via home delivery, vaccines etc,” he added.
