MARGAO: Amidst a sharp rise in cybercrime, police stations across South Goa district managed to solve 28 of the 56 cases of cheating they registered in 2022, which encompasses incidents of job recruitment fraud, online phishing of funds, cheating in connection with delivery of goods, false promises of marriage and forgery among others.
In some cheating cases, fraudsters siphoned off the victims’ money by collecting details like ATM pin, OTPs etc by contacting them over the phone, or convincing them to click on a link and expose themselves to malware. Desperate job seekers were also convinced to deposit hefty sums of money in fraudulent accounts, with the lure of a high-paying job in a famous company or aboard a cruise liner. The police have also registered cases pertaining to bouncing of cheques, misappropriation of funds and taking fees for imaginary courses in imaginary institutions.
“Such cases of cheating occur because there is no awareness about the safety measures to be adopted while using internet banking facilities or online purchase of goods. We have also alerted banks regarding online cheating,” said PI Filomena Costa of the Colva police station.
Costa recalls several cases of cheating being investigated, like the Benaulim woman who received a text message with a link to pay her pending electricity bill, and found that Rs 7,50,571 was deducted from her bank account the same day. Another woman from Sernabatim paid an online fraudster Rs 40,000 on the promise of receiving bigger rewards, while another complainant from Curtorim was convinced to part with Rs 57,500 on the promise that he would get a high-paying job.
Advocate Amarnath Dessai exhorts the public not to furnish their confidential information to anyone who contacts them on the phone, under the guise of bank employees or even police officers. “Cheating cases are very complex to detect, especially with the rise in cyber fraudsters, who extort money and also threaten to file false cases against their victims,” he said.
