There are many tricks fraudsters use to cheat people and drain their bank accounts. Among the most common methods used by fraudsters are vishing, phishing, hacking, and so on. The number of people using online transactions has increased in recent years, so these frauds are on the rise.

The purpose of this blog post is to describe how a 22-year-old college dropout exploited email hacking to steal money from approximately 50 people's e-wallets.  Using online video tutorials on the Internet, he learned how to hack.

Email hacked and money stolen from e-wallet

Using the Internet, the accused gathered a database of phone numbers and email addresses of people in the money transfer business. On his mobile phone, the accused hacked their email addresses. In the event that an email account is hacked, he would gain access to the usernames and passwords of the e-wallets that they have saved in their emails.

Through these details, he was able to access the victim's e-wallets and transfer money to his own bank account from the account linked to the e-wallets.

A person who operated a money exchange shop filed a police report alleging that Rs 83,900 had been taken from his account by hacking into his login ID and password. A police investigation then began against the accused. The money was taken in 18 transactions. It appeared the accused had hacked into his account and generated a fake password.

Another Incident- 

Similarly, an individual who owns a photography studio complained about a possible hacking of his email account that resulted in Rs 1 lakh being taken from his account. Three transactions were made within six minutes.

The accused had hacked into the victim's Google Drive, which contained pictures of his credit card and other bank information. Fraudsters were able to carry out the transaction easily since the OTP was sent to the victim's email address.

Despite having studied only until the sixth grade, the accused was very intelligent. A leisurely lifestyle, frequent trips to hill stations with friends, and club parties would be how he spent all the stolen money.

Also Check: Fraud Story #181- Vishing Scam: How to avoid it?

How can you protect your email account from hackers?

1. Use a strong password - To ensure nobody can guess the password you set for your email ID, it must be extremely strong. Avoid using birthdays and names of family members as passwords. You must use a combination of small letters, capital letters, and numbers. Keep your passwords updated frequently.

2. Avoid clicking on suspicious links- Emails containing suspicious links should not be clicked. Clicking on the suspicious link could lead to your account being hacked.

3.  It is recommended that digital escrow platforms be used for payment. When making an online payment with Escrow, you do not share your financial information with anyone. There is a platform for escrow called Vouch.

How does digital escrow work?

In digital escrow, a third-party account holds the money deposited by the buyer until the seller fulfills the terms of the contract. The escrow company supervises the transacting parties.

What is the role of Digital Escrow in preventing online fraud in India? 

Digital escrow services are offered by many companies in India. Among the most trusted is Vouch.

Vouch’s Digital Escrow service is a transparent way for buyers and sellers to build trust and secure a clean transfer of product and payment. Sellers can feel assured that they will be fairly compensated promptly, and buyers will feel confident that their order will be delivered as expected and on schedule. Vouch Digital Escrow keeps you updated and informed at every step of the transaction process till the end. Vouch’s professionals are always available to assist you with all queries that you may have during the entire transaction process. 

There is no scope for deceit or fraud since the payments, shipping, delivery, and execution are carried out under the honest and watchful eyes of the Vouch’s professionals. With Vouch, any business transaction becomes transparent, uncomplicated, and hassle-free. If you ever come across a fraudster asking for OTP, asking you to scan a QR code, or asking you to click on phishing links, you can simply refuse and ask him/her to proceed with the transaction through Vouch.


This is Fraud Story #184. Check back here for more fraud stories and scams that you can protect yourself from.

Safety is not just about protecting your credit, debit card number, and UPI accounts. It's about having control of your money till you've received the product or service you bought online!

Note: This is a good-faith initiative to educate the world about avoiding frauds like these and how to act when you're becoming a victim of such a situation. 

Do you have a fraud you would like to report? Please write to us at letstalk@iamvouched.com