International Fraud Awareness Week: Three Online Frauds That Can Put You In Serious Trouble

While we use the internet for activities other than just simple research, we want to be sure that we are safe from scams that can possibly threaten us in several ways.

(Representational Image) ( Image Source :Getty )

In 2021, India reported 52,974 incidences of cybercrime, an almost 6% rise over the previous year. According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, Telangana topped the list of states, accounting for more than 19 percent. 

As many as 32,230 cases, or approximately 61 percent of all cybercrime cases, were committed with the intent of committing fraud. Meanwhile, the second-most common motive, sexual exploitation, accounted for 8.6 percent (4,555 incidents), followed by extortion, which accounted for 5.4 percent (2,883 cases), according to the report.

Today, the time spent online has almost quadrupled. While we use the internet for activities other than just simple research, we want to be sure that we are safe from scams that can possibly threaten us in several ways.

"Scammers’ never-ending pursuit to make easy money can be grave encounters for us since their decoding skills are highly likely to put our bank account information, identity proofs, social media account, etc., at risk. Given that, here are three frauds that these scammers can pull off," Amit Relan, Founder and CEO, mFilterIt stated.

• Identity Theft

Fraudsters are equipped to access databases that are a storehouse of a person’s identity-related information which they can use for account transfers, raise loans or conduct a crime on our name to walk free. This can be prevented by closely scanning the platform we are sharing our credentials with.    

• Fake Customer Care Numbers

Brands put their customer care numbers online and they get hacked. Eventually, fraudsters use the brand identity to dupe its customers urging them to reveal data like bank information, credit card details, online wallet credentials, etc. So, instead of extracting the customer care number from the search engine results, we should get that information from the brand’s official website only. 

• Account Hijack

A hacker can seep into the accounts like social media, eCommerce, subscriptions, etc. Basically, they can hack every account that requires login credentials. This is nothing but an account hijack that can be prevented by keeping your credential secret and renewing your password often, maybe at an interval of 15 days or a month. 

Seeding different types of fraud into the system is a flourishing activity that is putting us at risk. It is time that we become alert and counter these frauds.