Beware! Cyber fraudsters on the prowl

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The Central Crime Branch says that there is an increase in cases of fraudsters extorting money from people through apps in Bengaluru.

The city police and the CCB have been keeping an eye on these cases and are conducting raids in various parts of the city. On Friday, the CCB disclosed that around Rs 100 cr has been confiscated in the last year in cases related to fraud applications.

Out of this, Rs 60 crore has been confiscated by CCB and Rs 40 cr by the city’s cyber police. Suhas A., a resident of the city, is among those who has been a victim of cyber fraud. “I saw an advertisement on Church Street claiming that they could provide me with money and employment.

I called the number that was available on the poster. I was asked to install an app and upload my documents and details on it, which I agreed to do as I was in urgent need of money. Later, a person called and started blackmailing me, saying that they had access to my photos and videos and would upload them on social media,” he said.

Suhas filed a case with the city’s cyber cell, but he claims that no action was taken by the officials. City’s cyber police say that there has been an increase in cyber fraud in the last year. They say that most of the cases are related to people being scammed by installing apps. These apps are used to give loans to people by convincing them that they will get loans easily.

Then they were accused of stealing people’s data and extorting them by threatening to make their private photos viral. The police started search operations after hearing many similar complaints. On Friday, cyber police raided 12 centres belonging to the Chinese ‘Keepshare’ app, which was collecting money from youth by promising them employment. Officials seized Rs 5.88 crore in cash and documents.

A case has been registered against this app in Bangalore South Division Cyber Police Station. ‘Don’t install random apps’ Sammar Saurav, a cybersecurity expert, said that people should avoid installing random apps and clicking on unidentified links on social media.

“There are people who use their email IDs in random apps, and this is how data from their phones are stolen. We need to be more aware as cybercrime is on the rise. We should change our passwords frequently and avoid clicking on links that are unidentified,” he said.