Social media scammers lure victims with free gifts, lottery tickets, and enticing deals. Sometimes, fraudsters pretending to be friends send people fake friend requests and messages. Messages and requests of this sort are usually used by fraudsters to steal money from innocent people.
These types of communications are typically ignored since they are widely known as fraudulent. Unfortunately, many people make the mistake of believing this to be true, which causes them to lose their hard-earned money.
Noida: A 32-year-old teacher was scammed for Rs 32 lakh by a Facebook friend
It is alleged that a 32-year-old woman, a teacher by profession and a resident of Noida's Sector 45, was duped out of Rs 32 lakh by a conman she had been friends with for a while on social media.
According to her complaint, the woman met the conman on Facebook and immediately became friends with him.
After a few conversations, the victim said the man first asked for her address, which she declined. After a few days, another woman called her and said that a package had arrived from Mumbai, containing gold jewelry, wristwatches, and approximately Rs 55 lakh in cash.
The woman told the victim that she had to pay a processing fee for the parcel's clearance, according to the complaint filed at Sector 39 police station.
The woman fell into the trap
The victim eventually fell victim to the scam and paid Rs 32 lakh to the conman in six installments over the period of 45 days, according to police officials.
A probe has been initiated
On the basis of the complaint, the Noida Police filed an FIR against the accused under the provisions of the Information Technology Act and fraud charges. Noida Police has named the accused in its FIR as "Aarti" because the victim received a call with this name. However, the identity of the fraudster is not yet known.
Also Check: Fraud Story #195- Civil Engineer Arrested For Online Fraud Of ₹1.75 Lakh
How to avoid this kind of fraud?
1. Ensure that you check a person's background you met on social media before getting close to him/her.
2. Any individual showing urgency or not waiting for a reasonable amount of time is likely to be a scammer.
3. People take advantage of social media platforms to cheat innocent people and make quick money, so you should never lend money to someone you meet on these sites.
4. Often, fraudsters try to trick you by claiming that they are in a difficult situation or that they need money to clear gifts from customs. Don't be fooled by these kinds of tricks.
5. 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 #213. 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
