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Dimapur, June 21 (EMN): Nagaland Police has warned the public against various cyber frauds and crimes prevalent in the state and urged to be aware of the widespread operation of cyber fraudsters.
One such cyber crime is theft of identity and photos of the victims, often of well-known persons, which is available on the internet and social media.
The fraudsters access the contacts and mobile numbers of friends, colleagues, etc., from the official websites/contact list and send phishing messages through WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, etc., asking the victim's friends, colleagues, for help in the form of money transfer, common merchant cards purchases, e-wallet transfers, etc.
“They may also solicit and recommend some fraudulent apps requiring transfer and deposit of money,” Nagaland Police in a statement on Tuesday said.
It also warned of extortion or blackmail/extortion of victims by contact/communication through Facebook chat, WhatsApp, etc. The modus operandi is to convince or persuade the victim to chat, video chat or exchange photos through social media.
The conversation or video may or may not be of sexual or of compromising nature and the scamsters resort to morphing their pictures and superimposing compromising pictures to harass and threaten the victims of dire consequences. The fraudsters are professionals and try to overwhelm the victims through various aggressive tactics and language, it said.
Some victims, out of alarm, make payment through various online payment apps, UPIs, etc.
Another way of duping the public is through the Bitcoin scam where potential victims are lured to invest/buy Bitcoins. It said that the fraudsters entice the victims by sending messages, links and also by hacking the social media accounts of friends of the victim and make it seem like their friends are endorsing the particular Bitcoin.
It further warned of fake online shopping apps and shopping pages/accounts on popular social media platforms. The fraudsters lure the victims by offering attractive offers/discounts through their pages and after the victims make the payment, the delivery is not made.
The public have been advised to remain vigilant and not be duped by such scams.
“The fraudsters are professionals and take extra effort to appear genuine. They operate through multiple identities, accounts, phone numbers, etc,” read the statement.
Nagaland Police also appealed to the public not to transfer money without completely verifying the authenticity of the account, be it through bank transfer, easy money transfer Apps, UPIs, e-Wallets, etc. It also asked not to accept requests from strangers without verification, no matter how genuine and attractive they may appear, and not to fall for advertisements or links for Bitcoins, online game prizes/gifts, lottery, cash back, easy loans, stock market investment scams, quick returns, etc.