Amidst online fraudsters continually changing their modus operandi, a major scam has surfaced in Kashmir Valley.
These online fraudsters initially offer benefits worth a few thousand rupees and then deceive people into losing several lakhs in cash. This is exactly what numerous gullible people have been subjected to by the fraudsters and ruined of huge money.
Inspired by the Hindi film ‘Phir Hera Pheri’, the fraudsters set up a company named ‘Curative Survey’ in the Karan Nagar area and duped several people of at least Rs 59 crore under the pretext of doubling their investment within two weeks, local officials said.
They, however, said the amount might increase as the investigation is still in progress.
Initially, the company made good on its promise which brought in more investors and the scheme was promoted by at least two local YouTubers adding to its popularity.
The registered owner promoters of this company, they said, are being identified and being investigated. “The role of local office staff and persons promoting the schemes on social media is also being investigated.”
Apart from frauds, cyberattacks on individuals, financial and strategic institutions and industries are increasing with widespread digitisation. Lack of digital literacy renders a significant segment of the population vulnerable to data theft, ransomware attacks, electronic transfer frauds, phishing and other kinds of cyber threats.
To help achieve the aim of making the Internet Open, Safe and Trusted and Accountable and to strengthen the mechanism to deal with such cybercrimes in a coordinated manner, the Central Government has made the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. These rules cast specific obligation on intermediaries, including social media intermediaries, to observe due diligence and provide that if they fail to observe such due diligence, they shall no longer be exempt from their liability under law for third-party information or data or communication link hosted by them. Such due diligence includes making reasonable efforts to cause the users not to host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store, update or share, information which is harmful to child, or obscene, or invasive of another’s bodily privacy, or violates any law.
The police have advised the general public to be cautious of online scams and urged to verify the credentials of online schemes before investing their hard-earned money. Citizens affected by the major scam must share relevant information with the investigation agency and on the other hand the latter must ensure expeditious inquiry. Care must also be taken by every individual to ensure vigil against such frauds. Also traditional methods of fighting internet crimes are proving to be entirely effective. Hence, there is an urgent need to overhaul the securitisation of cyberspace.
