Pune News Updates: Pune citizens are increasingly being preyed upon by cybercriminals through fake investment schemes, threats, and false internet interactions. Women lost around Rs 17 lakh to social media crimes in three different incidences that were reported this month. These internet frauds include gift parcel schemes, investment fraud, and fake police threats.
Trap Number One
A woman from Hadapsar fell victim to a fraudulent stock trading scheme and lost Rs 8.77 lakh. The scammers promised high returns and led her through many transactions over a few weeks. When no earnings materialized and the scammers fell silent, she knew she was a victim of fraud.
Trap Number Two
A resident of Raviwar Peth made friends with a man who claimed to be residing overseas on social media in the third occurrence. He said he will send her expensive presents. Soon after, she got a call from someone pretending to be a customs official, claiming the package had been confiscated at the airport and requesting payment to have it released. She paid Rs 2.77 lakh before realizing the fraud since she believed the story.
Trap Number 3
Scammers posing as police officers scammed a Yerawada-based woman of Rs 6.15 lakh. They said that a shipment bearing her name had been intercepted at the airport and contained cocaine. Fraudsters threatened to jail her unless she gave money to settle the “case.” The woman panicked and transferred the money, only to realize she had been duped. A complaint has been lodged at Yerawada Police Station.
Police officials have observed an increasing tendency of cybercriminals pretending to be members of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED), or Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in order to obtain money from civilians.
