Fraudsters are now employing innovative methods to cheat the public. Fraudsters have recently been luring victims to purchase Google Play or Amazon Gift Cards.
As per the reports, an employee of the Telangana High Court was defrauded of Rs 2 lakh by cyber fraudsters posing as the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court.
Through WhatsApp, the fraudsters approached the victim asking for an Amazon gift card worth Rs 2 lakh to be sent as he was busy with some work and would return the amount later.
Since the victim believed the message came from Delhi High Court CJ Satish Chandra Sharma, the victim purchased and sent the gift cards.
When he realized he had been duped, he contacted the police, who have opened an investigation.
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Google Play and Amazon gift card frauds on the rise
It was reported that Hyderabad police had recently arrested two people from Bihar and Bengaluru who tried to mint money via WhatsApp messages using pictures of senior government officials and invoking an emergency.
Junior-level officials do not check and jump in to help their superiors immediately in a hurry. They later realize they’ve been cheated, said a Hyderabad police official.
Most of the time, the gangs do not ask for direct cash transfers. Rather than asking for money directly, they first strike up a conversation and then ask for Amazon or Google gift cards.
Targets are identified based on the details provided on government official websites. Using the pictures and contact information of the person they intend to target, they gain access to the information they need. Typically, it’s some high-ranking official that his junior colleagues won’t suspect, the official said.
Reports say that gift cards collected by gangs are sold on websites at a 30 percent discount after they are collected. People from all over the world purchase and use it.
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