Velpuri Pavithra very nearly got conned into transferring Rs 10,000 to a man who trying out a trick via WhatsApp on her. Her presence of mind saved her. Many others are not as fortunate. We look at other online scams and how to stay safe online.
She was trying to sell a used stroller on OLX. A man calling himself Vishal made an offer for purchase and said he would make an online transfer of Rs 3,500/- for the item which would be picked up later. So Velpuri Pavithra gave him her account details. Within moments, she received an SMS saying that Rs13,500/- had been transferred to her bank account.
Making inquiries about her account with the bank and checking records, she found that no transfer was made; that the SMS was fake and a ruse to make her transfer Rs 10,000/- to the scamster's account. The entire incident was narrated via a Facebook post for others to become cautious.
Ponzi or Pyramid schemes are common but illegal (though there is no specific law outlawing this in India yet); managing to lure people into paying amounts in the hope of easy, big returns. India’s first social network Ponzi scheme – Social Trade – lured people to pay money to get in on a scheme that would earn them money just for giving Facebook and Twitter ‘likes’. Since buying likes is common and not illegal, this scheme capitalized on this. People could enroll and pay Rs 5,750 and then ‘like’ pages. For 125 likes, the ‘investor’ would receive Rs 625.
Many were tempted by the promise of easy money made daily and accumulated monthly. Making more members meant that one moved up the hierarchy and maked more money by way of commission… all until the whole thing collapsed, that is. The fact that social networks are difficult to track makes such schemes more diabolical and sinister.
4 persons - director of Profit Network company and three other accused - were arrested in Gurgaon for cheating 4,800 people in a similar case. Here as well, ‘members’ were made to deposit money and then sent links to ‘like’.
When we first signed up for WhatsApp we were told that the first year is free, after which we could continue to use the app for a nominal fee. So, many can be forgiven for falling for this one. Users were fooled into paying ‘subscription’ for the free service. They received a message saying: “Your subscription has expired. To verify your account and purchase a lifetime subscription for just 0.99 GDP simply tap on this link.”
Then there was one scam that lured people by promising WhatsApp in different colours. What it actually did was to install malware on the phone and then do the same on the desktop via a browser extension.
Firstly remember if it sounds too good to be true, it most certainly is not true. Don’t be lured by the promise of easy money. Never divulge any personal information to strangers; particularly financial information. Make sure your anti-virus software is up to date. Double check everything and be vigilant about anything that doesn’t seem quite right.
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