Scam and fraud activities are increasing over time in India and what's worse is they are getting more and more sophisticated with each day that passes. Gone are the days when we would receive a call from 'our bank' asking for our OTPs. Now links are being shared and if you just click on that link then your account will be drained. You don't even have to enter any OTP now. Recently another scam has surfaced in which fake letters in the name of Enforcement Agencies like CBI, Police or Customs are being sent to individuals.
CyberDost, a Cyber-safety and Cybersecurity awareness handle maintained by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, made a tweet informing the public about this fraud. They shared a picture of the fake letter along with the caption, "Individuals are receiving such fake letters in the name of Enforcement Agencies like CBI, Police or Custom. Don't fall in TRAP of Cyber Fraudsters, as these are FAKE. Report such letters on https://cybercrime.gov.in/
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What Was In The Letter
The letter kicks off with the name of CBI and seeks consent to the terms of a confidential agreement. It lays down a few conditions for the individual. The first condition is "The respondent, I am XXX hereby makes a promise of confidentiality for the purpose of filing an investigation into the illegal money laundering case. In accordance with the provisions of BNS sections 235,261 and 318 of the Criminal Law, the crime of official duties and the crime of leaking secrets are punishable by imprisonment for a term of not less than three years and not more than seven years. The party involved in the case before the case is not investigated clearly, XXX shall not disclose state secrets to any person."
The second condition states, "For violation of the national financial order law, involving financial money laundering cases, the parties involved in the case during the investigation, telecommunications public security due to the needs of the case XXX will be for the bank accounts and mobile phones used in his name, do the whole legality of listening, monitoring non-state agencies suspected of crime, transferred to the judicial authorities."
The third condition says, "The person involved in the case before the case is closed, without reporting may not leave the country without permission, and may not leave the place of residence limited to, if there is a violation will be prosecuted for suspected fugitive crime, the maximum two years to three years in prison."
Lastly, the letter concludes by saying, "I have read all the above provisions of the confidentiality agreement and I agree to cooperate fully with the handling of the case."