Srinagar, June 16: While scammers are resorting to more devious tricks, phone scams continue to pose risks to the unwary and in case somebody asks for your phone number at airport or any other place while you purchase something, do not share.
The scammers have found new ways to trick people and steal money. There is the fake voice call scam. Scammers are using advanced technology to generate fake voice calls that sound real and trick people into giving money.
In Kashmir such cases have been reported to Cyber Police Kashmir. “We get such cases and are on rise,” Superintendent Police, Cyber Police, Kashmir, Iftikhar Talib told Greater Kashmir. “Under the guidance of Additional Director General of Police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar we making awareness and taking concrete steps to stop further online crimes.” Police officials said that after getting phone number, these are being used for Vishing—or voice phishing—is the use of fraudulent phone calls to trick people into giving money or revealing personal information.
“It’s a new name for an old problem—telephone scams,” a senior police official told Greater Kashmir adding that Vishing frequently involves a criminal pretending to represent a trusted institution, company, or government agency. “You may be asked to buy an extended warranty, offered a free vacation, told your computer is infected and you need anti-virus software, or asked to donate to charity.”
Common phone scams:
Scammers sometimes offer free gifts as rewards to consumers that actually are efforts to take your money and information. Vacations and travel are among the most common offerings by scammers seeking your address, credit card number, credit information, while asking for a shipping and handling fee or similar fee to send the gift.
‘You’ve won the Lottery’ scams often come from outside the United States, thus making law enforcement’s job all the harder. Scammers ask their victims to pay a fee, buy tickets, and/or provide personal information.
Typically, scammers claim that the victim owes taxes or has another problem. They mimic caller IDs, and may even have acquired victims’ Social Security numbers. But the IRS will never phone taxpayers nor request an immediate wire transfer of money. IRS contacts taxpayers by mail.
‘I’m calling from the bank’ schemers contact victims about alleged problems with a bank account or funds, sometimes originating as text messages asking for contact via telephone. The scam is looking for personal information, including bank account and credit card information, to take your money.
Charity scams can happen at any time, but are frequent after disasters when generous people want to help others, but the funds wind up in the scammers’ pockets. While some charities do accept donations via telephone, when in doubt, call them back on a verified line to make a donation.
Debt scammers use fear to trick victims into forking over money. Sometimes posing as collection agencies, they urgently request payment of a supposed debt and even threaten legal action should victims fail to pay. They may also offer to write off supposed debt, which does not exist, in exchange for a smaller payment.