Online scams and cyber fraud have reached a new level. Every day, fraudsters line up to exploit unsuspecting targets. These scams have a huge impact, causing serious damage to people’s finances.
Recently, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) warned that the nation loses ₹60 crore daily through online fraud. Scammers are well aware that people are gradually getting wiser and changing their strategies with emails and fake messages, deceptive websites, and calls.
The latest alert from TRAI could not be more timely given the fact that people of all ages, from Gen Y employees to retirees, are falling victim to such frauds. The tactics used by scammers are extreme. They often imitate official organizations or offer real-looking discounts. Sometimes, they create a false problem to make you act quickly. Even tech-savvy or computer-skilled people can fall for these convincing tricks.
In turning the tables, users are encouraged to act by confirming unknown numbers, not clicking any link they come across, or even reporting any fraudulent attempts. With the right approach, the users can avoid the dangers that are constantly growing in the number and variety of cyber threats.
The alert issued by TRAI is a reminder to everyone. As our lives improve with digital advancements, the risk of cybercrime is still very real. Hence, staying cautious online is essential to protect against these threats.
The Alarming Rise Of Cyber Fraud
It is high time that the people of India opened their eyes to the dawn of cyber fraud, where the daily loss is accounted to be ₹ 60 crore by the year 2024. There was ₹750 crore stolen from January to April only through different cybercrimes such as investment scams, fake trading apps, unlawful loan apps, and sextortion.
Statistics show that about 7000 cases were registered daily in May 2024, which is quite high compared to previous years. Recently, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center, I4C, reported a 113.7 % rise in complaints from 2021-2022, with 750000+ complaints in the first four months of 2024.
One is that 85 per cent of these frauds are financial ones, impacting common citizens through misleading applications and internet scams. They can spoof official calls from government agencies or manipulate algorithms of social media or online platforms to get prey.
The recent spike in cybercrime calls for urgent action. We need stronger precautions to protect against online fraud. Enhanced security technologies are essential to counter evolving threats. Laws must be updated to safeguard citizens from these growing cyber risks. As fraud tactics become more sophisticated, staying ahead requires constant vigilance and improved digital defences.
New Cyber Scamming Tactics
The ever-rising cases of cyber crimes or cyber frauds have occasioned new and unending trickery in scamming people. Therefore, anyone needs to be wary. Given below are some of the most common methods:
- Fake Trading Apps: There are fake, bogus investment trading applications that seem to be genuine, and people end up investing in them and trading in them, losing a lot of money.
- Loan and Gambling Scams: A lot of people have been lured into downloading loan or gambling applications, which are fake, but the developers aim to steal their money.
- Impersonation of Law Enforcement: Scammers use the information to spoof calls and messages that appear to be from government or law enforcement and trick the victims into providing information.
- OTP and Phishing Attacks: Cybercriminals also employ phishing emails and fake websites to obtain OTPs and personal user details.
- Sextortion: In this type of scam, a perpetrator makes demands for payments from his/her victim with a threat in mind that the latter’s private information will be posted online.
Being aware of such tactics and avoiding falling for them on the internet curbs such exceptional and improving fraudulent activities.
Stay Informed
With all forms of fraud becoming highly developed, knowledge is the best way of preventing cyber fraud. With many newly emerging fake trading apps, loan scams, and phishing attacks, the public is once again reminded to be wary of giving out information online.
Be careful of the sources on which you receive notifications. They can be fake websites, fake apps, or fake calls, for that matter, especially when they are requesting OTPs or passwords.
Organizations such as the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and TRAI periodically come up with alerts to inform users about the new scams. Ignorance is the worst enemy of a user. So, by updating your security settings once in a while and using strong passwords, you will keep fraudsters from manipulating their accounts.
For more information, you can check the cybersecurity guidelines obtained from the most credible and updated sources you can find there.