We covered multiple types of scams to create awareness among people. Every other day we come across one or the other unique kind of scam where the objective of the scammer is the same, to loot people’s capital. However, their way of scamming people is getting upgraded day by day.
On one hand, many awareness blogs, videos and news are broadcasted that is helping a few people to protect themselves. On the other side, scammers are getting smarter.
Recently we came across a case, and here is the complete narration of how one student living in a small town got scammed and lost not only his capital but entire assets.
Manav (name changed) belongs to a lower middle class family. While doing his studies, he thought of making some investment so that he can afford his further studies and support his family too.
He came across one Facebook Ad on how to make capital by investing small amounts. He clicked on it and then got a message on Telegram.
So as per his conversation with our team, he said that the scammer asked him to buy items worth ₹100-₹200 using the links they provide and later they can earn profit on it.
He did the same and on the first day he earned ₹350 on ₹200 items he bought. He found it easy and affordable, so he continued. One day, the scammer asked him to make a purchase of ₹36,000. He somehow managed the capital as till then the scammer won his trust.
But this time, he didn’t get any return. Scammer asked him to make more purchases and to give assurance of return they shared one fake statement where one person had earned a huge return.
Now, Manav money was blocked and to get the same, he kept following scammer instructions. He borrowed money from one of his friends, his relatives and not only this he mortgaged some of his assets and bought items worth ₹2,76,000 in a day.
As soon as he made his last transaction, the scammer blocked him. He then realized that all the links provided were fake and there was no actually buying taking place. All that was happening was transfer of his fund to scammer bank account.
Now, this lower middle class Manav is not only struggling to get the money back but also to pay the debt that he had taken.
This incident is one year old and reaching out to Cyber Crime does not reap much success in such cases. So, along with filing a complaint to Cyber Crime Manav can reach out to the Nodal Officer of his state and to report the case to SP.
On pursuing investigation, Cyber Police freeze the bank accounts of scammers and other linked people to hold funds. On complete validation and completion of the case, there are chances that Manav gets a refund of his lost amount.
Maybe not the whole amount but proper drafting and documentation would definitely help him in getting recovery of losses.
What lessons does this incident leave for all?
- Validate & Verify every ad you see on social media.
- Do not follow anyone blindly.
- Do not fall into the pressure tactic of scammer
- Irrespective of investment type, invest capital as per your risk appetite.
