This type of online scam, known as the "Boss Scam", is targeted at those who work under those in high positions in this type of online fraud.
Coimbatore: Two persons have been arrested in Coimbatore for allegedly extorting money from a restaurant on the pretext of obtaining a restaurant licence in the name of the district collector.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that cyber crimes are taking on new avatars day by day on an unimaginable scale. Desiring to make more money, talking to strangers, people get trapped in the web of fraud even after creating awareness about cybercrime by clicking on unknown online links.
Usually, crimes like fraudloan apps, theft of bank money through OTP, credit card fraud, etc., take place on the one hand. Those responsible for preventing it and taking action against it are the ones who are being manipulated by cybercrime online people.The first target of such online people is the top officials in charge of the police, the district administration, etc.
Boss Scam
In this type of online fraud known as the "boss scam", top officials are not cheated by cyber criminals. In this novel scam, it is those who work under those in high positions who are duped by cyber criminals.
At first they observe the movement of higher officials. That is, if an officer is attending a meeting in Delhi. Everyone who works under him knows that he is going. They would have known that the meeting would take place from morning till evening.
The cyber criminals, who regularly monitor the movement of the top official, hacked his social media. They then send messages to his subordinates and talk to them. Those criminals speak like those top officials to make employees believe.
They send messages like, “I am in a meeting in Delhi and can't speak at the moment. So I'm texting. Send me a UPI link informing me to send me Rs.10,000 immediately. If there is no money, they ask for money by asking for money by asking for money to recharge the gift card and send it.”
Apart from this, sometimes they start social media accounts like senior officials and cheat the public and department officials by giving requests. Later, when they ask for help like money, the department employees also think about how to talk to higher officials and transfer the money.
Following this, a man who opened a WhatsApp account in the name of Coimbatore Collector spoke to another person like him and extorted money for the restaurant license. He claimed to be close to the collector and duped him by texting him like a collector on another phone.
On the basis of the complaint, two persons from Andhra Pradesh, Rajguru and Sridhar, were arrested by the Race Course Road Police and sent to jail.
Cyber crime experts and police have advised that if a message is received in the name of officials or in the name of political figures asking for money or if a request is received, it should be double checked to make it’s authentic.