A new wave of cyber fraud has been unleashed in recent weeks, aiming to cash in on the frenzy around Ayodhya. Several people have been conned by paying for the ‘prasad’, only to discover later that they have been hoodwinked.
Talking about the modus operandi, police said the fraudsters send out messages to random numbers, promising to deliver ‘prasad’ all the way from Ayodhya.When users click on the link that accompanies the messages, they are asked to fill in their details. No sooner do they key in their phone numbers, the fraudsters gain access to the bank accounts linked to those. It takes just seconds to transfer all the cash.
Some gangs, police said, are also luring people with phone recharge. The modus operandi used to gain access to bank accounts is almost the same. “There is hardly any religious organisation or institution that delivers prasad like this. If anyone comes across such messages, please ignore them and don’t click on any links,” a police officer in the city said.
Cops on both the city and Faridabad urged people to report such incidents on the national cyber helpline (1930) or through cybercrime.gov.in
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has announced that guests at the consecration ceremony on January 22 will be handed ‘Ramraj’ and laddu prasad as gift. ‘Ramraj’ is the soil extracted while the temple’s foundation was being laid. More than 11,000 guests from across the country have been invited for the event. There is no provision for online delivery of prasad so far.
But this is not the first time that cyber fraudsters have cashed in on a relevant event or situation to con people.
During the Covid pandemic, many people were cheated by gangs that promised to offer booster vaccine shots without any wait. Similarly, people were conned in the name of medicines, doctor consultations and oxygen cylinders – the gangs cashing on the crisis around them.
Faridabad police chief Rakesh Kumar Arya said fraudsters were always looking for relevant events or situations to reach out to their targets. “During the first wave of Covid, the Prime Minister had urged people to donate for the PM Cares fund. So, cyber fraudsters reached out to people and asked for donations in the PM’s name. Similarly, when people were frantically looking for oxygen cylinders during the deadly second wave, many were cheated with false promises,” he told TOI.
An officer from the Cyber police station said the same set of people were involved in online frauds, repeatedly changing their phone numbers to avoid detection.
“Initial investigation traced most of these numbers to the online fraud hubs of Jamtara, Bharatpur and Mewat,” the officer said.
He said awareness was the only way people could shield themselves against cyber frauds. “People should not blindly believe in messages or calls. They should verify payment gateways before going ahead,” the officer said.