- By Vikas Yadav
- Mon, 12 Jun 2023 02:53 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
JE Technology Desk: As online payments continue to rise exponentially in India, scammers are innovating ways to dupe users. And in the latest case, fraudsters managed to scam a Delhi police official and snap away over Rs 2 lakh from his bank accounts by luring him into a cashback fraud on the popular online payment app PhonePe, according to news agency PTI (Press Trust of India). Four people were arrested in this case.
Vinod Tyagi, Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI), who is posted in the East district, claimed the fraudster, who reached out from an unknown contact number, told him that he had won a cashback on a transaction he made via the PhonePe app.
The scammer asked Tyagi to download an app to claim the money that passed on full access to Tyagi's smartphone, citing a senior police official, the report added. The scamster completed multiple transactions summing up to Rs 2.12 lakh from the policeman's bank account and credit card.
The money was dispersed into a digital wallet linked to "four to five bank accounts" in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and different parts of India, said Amrutha Guguloth, DCP East. Once the funds were tracked, the police conducted multiple raids. Two accused were nabbed from Sitapur, UP and the rest from east Midnapore, West Bengal. The entire amount was recovered later.
This is not one case in point. Several instances of WhatsApp users falling for scams such as the 'like video and earn' part-time job fraud have surfaced. These scams are on the rise because it lures individuals to earn handsome money while sitting at home and just engaging with YouTube videos or rating restaurants/hotels. Here are a few tips you can undertake to be safe from these scams:
- Do not download apps on your smartphone that may give the scammer remote access or allow screen visibility of the device
- Cross-verify the offers and benefits from authentic sources (PhonePe app in this case)
- Use strong passwords that are not easy to remember for a scammer
- Enable two-factor or OTP-based verification options on your apps
- Update your smartphone and install a trusted anti-virus app
