Jaipur: As the country continues to grapple with the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, criminal groups have been using social media for duping unemployed people on the pretext of providing jobs.
Cyber fraudsters in Rajasthan are finding novel ways to target people and a large number of unemployed youth are being cheated after being promised jobs abroad.
The unemployed who are desperate for a job fall in the trap set by cyber thugs.
People seeking jobs apply and upload their resumes on various websites. After stealing data of job seekers from these websites, cyber criminals approach them on the pretext of providing them jobs abroad.
Many cases unreported as people are cheated of small amounts
The fraudsters ask the job seekers to deposit fees ranging from Rs 1000 to Rs 2000 when they apply for a job. The unemployed fall in the trap laid by the fraudsters by transferring the 'small amount' demanded by them via UPI or other money transfer apps.
Most people do not even report the fraud as the cheated amount is very less. However, by duping hundreds of people of small amounts, the fraudsters manage to collect a significant amount.
What experts say
Speaking to ETV Bharat, cyber security expert Ayush Bhardwaj said, "Promising jobs abroad, cyber thugs cheat a small amount from each job seeker. They dupe a large number of people of small amounts and manages to remain hidden from the eyes of the police. Many cases are going unreported as people do not come forward to lodge a complaint as they are duped of a small amount.
"Cyber thugs send QR codes through a message or email to job seekers. The fake websites, where the job seekers apply for jobs are asked to scan the QR code through an online payment app. The applicants are told that their online application would be accepted if they scan the QR code through the payment app provided by thugs," he said.
"As soon as the person scans the QR code sent by the thugs through the payment app, the thugs withdraw amount ranging from Rs 20,000 to 40,000. In many cases, the fraudsters swindled lakhs of rupees," Bharadwaj said.
"The amount of money siphoned off this way is transferred to bank accounts which are opened through fake e-KYC. In that case, when a complaint is lodged with the police, the police first looks into the details of the bank account in which the fraudulent amount has been transacted," he said.
"When the police reach the person with the help of the details of the bank account, it is often found that the documents that were used to open the bank account are fake. They usually belong to an unsuspecting person rather than a cyber thug. On the basis of the documents of which the bank accounts are operated by cyber thugs, those individuals do not even know that the transactions of lakh of rupees are being done in the bank accounts using their documents," he added.
Methods to safeguard yourself against cyber thugs
SEO used to trend fake websites
Bhardwaj told that cyber criminals make fake websites that are similar to foreign websites. After this, they use search engine optimization (SEO), to get their websites to the top of Google search results while the actual website goes down in the search.
When a person applying for a job abroad searches the website, the fake website created by cyber thugs appears on the top. On clicking on the website, a number is given to apply for the job and when the person calls on that number, he/she is asked to deposit a sum as fees for applying for the job, through fake IVR.
As soon as the job seeker enters his debit or credit card information and CVV code, the thugs withdraw money from that person's account. Sometimes, a person is asked to apply online for a visa or to book a flight ticket, or to conduct an online transaction in a similar manner and then a fixed amount is cheated from his account. Fake flight tickets and visas are sent to the victim's email.
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