Lucknow: Two persons in an attempt to have Blue Tick tag on their Twitter accounts hailing from Lucknow and Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh — were cheated by two cyber fraudsters. Cyber cheats stole Rs 17000 and Rs 24000 from the respective bank accounts, leaving them ruing their lot.
Recently, a journalist and YouTuber in Lucknow became a victim of cyber fraud. He browsed Google to search for an agency and fell into the trap of a fraudster. The victim opened an international payment gateway through his debit card. The fraudster then asked him to share the OTP number. The moment the victim shared the OTP, Rs 17000 was immediately taken out of his bank account. Somehow, the journo was successful in blocking the bank account by contacting the officials of the IT cell of the bank.
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Explaining the issue, cyber expert Amit Dubey said, "A new cyber fraud has begun in the name of providing Blue Tick on Twitter. But this Blue Tick service has not started in India. Right now, this service is available to people in US and Europe only. Fraudsters ask gullible customers to open international banking accounts through Virtual Payment Networks (VPN) because the money will be transferred to United States bank account for availing of the service. Then they tell people that VPN will be used for payment and it will be opened through their account. The fraudsters ask people to change their Internet Protocol (IP) address also."
"People showing desperation to avail the facility share banking credentials with the fraudster and get duped. The cheater tells customers that the payment will be facilitated to the US through VPN. So be cautious against those fraudsters on the prowl," Amit added.
What is Blue Tick account: The survey work for Blue Tick account on Twitter has not started in India. At present, it has been confined to Europe and the US only. But the cybercriminals are targeting gullible customers in India. The Blue Tick on Twitter signifies a verified account which also denotes its authenticity. It has an opt-in paid account. The authenticity tag attracts more eyeballs and fan following. People in a race for upping their Likes prefer Blue Tick on Twitter.
