- By Vikas Yadav
- Fri, 27 Oct 2023 09:21 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2023: Online scams and cybersecurity in India have a contrasting relationship. As the world continues to bolster security measures, online fraudsters evolve ways to scrap money from users. Among the scams on the rise recently include new call forwarding, part-time jobs and scams against women.
These scams mostly have a quick call-to-action that forces a victim to take action. Staying calm and introspecting the details provided by the scammer is the key in these situations. As we observe 'Cybersecurity Awareness Month', here are some of the online frauds that you must be cautious about.
Call Forwarding Scam
The headline-making scam these days is the call-forwarding fraud. A scammer directs victims to dial the contact number with the prefix 401 that forwards calls to their number. Once successful, the fraudster requests OTP via call and can access your social media and bank accounts. Hence, ensure that you do not dial such codes at the request of people impersonating staff of telecom service providers.
Online Crimes Against Women
Scams In India: The best step is to report these cybercrimes to the relevant authorities. (Image:Unsplash)
Online crimes involving morphed clips and photos of women produced using advanced technologies such as AI with the intention of revenge or money are also on the rise. "With rising cases of cyber attacks, online bullying, trolling and even online harassment specially targeted toward women, cybersecurity has become a non-negotiable today to protect women from online hate of any kind, said Aparna Acharekar, Co-founder of coto, a women-only social community app. The best step is to report these types of cybercrimes to the relevant authorities.
Part-Time Job Frauds
The proliferating frauds promise easy sums of money in exchange for liking videos and rating movies or hotels. These scams originate mainly from instant messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram. Both platforms offer mechanisms to report and block such activities and users on their apps, which is a user-focused approach to limit such crimes.
"Ensuring a safe environment isn't just a defensive strategy; it's a competitive advantage. Security-conscious users are more likely to choose platforms that prioritise the safety and confidentiality of their information available online," stated PlayerzPot's (a fantasy sports app) CTO Mihir Sanchala.
Way Forward
While users who have some form of know-how with technology are relatively more receptive to such online scams, the problems arise with kids and underaged teens on the internet. The group might get lured into clicking links or sharing personal details that can be used against them by the scammer.
"The next great big innovations in cybersecurity are going to come from the need to keep our kids safe as they traverse the online world, given that their presence online is going to be inevitable in the times to come," said Ravi Bhushan, Founder and CEO of BrightCHAMPS, a skilling platform for children.