Police worried over alarming rise in e-wallet fraud cases
Kolkata: Increasing number of cyber fraud cases in which Paytm and other e-wallets users are being duped, have become a serious concern for the Kolkata Police.
In the last few months, a good number of complaints have been lodged regarding e-wallet fraud. According to police, earlier several miscreants were nabbed from Jharkhand, Haryana, Rajasthan and some other states who were involved in the fraud.
Investigators have observed that as people are using the digital mode of payments like e-wallets frequently, fraudsters have now started targeting the users of e-wallets.
According to Deputy Commissioner (DC), Cyber Crime, of Kolkata Police, Aparajita Rai, e-wallet frauds are being committed using three ways. The most trending way of duping people is to convince the user to download a remote access smartphone application, through which fraudsters gain access to the user's device.
Sources informed that fraudsters posing as an employee of Paytm or other such e-wallet companies generally call the user and tell them that their wallet will be closed if they do not follow their instructions. Following that miscreants ask the user to download a remote access application and collect the user's information. Fraudsters usually make a transaction and use the one-time password (OTP) that is sent to the user's mobile phone.
In another way, fraudsters send text messages to several people informing them that they have won prize money in a lucky draw conducted by an e-wallet platform. They then ask for bank details of the user saying that they need it to credit the money. After obtaining these details, miscreants then send a text message informing them that the money has been credited, however, the amount mentioned in the message is normally more than the amount won. Later a person calls up the user and informs that due to some technical issue, extra money has been credited which needs to be refunded.
Believing the frauds the user sends the extra amount to the e-wallets or to bank accounts which the fraudsters provide. The last way is to get the PIN of the wallet which is necessary during the transaction.
Police sources informed that every month the bank fraud section of Kolkata Police receives approximately 550 complaints among which a large number of complaints are regarding e-wallet fraud. Rai further informed that having less knowledge about these e-wallets while using them is dangerous. However, she admitted that presently cybercriminals have changed their way of duping people as the society is turning towards digital payment methods.
