Benglauru, May 25: Nearly one thousand people in the capital city of Karnataka have lost several crores of rupees to online fraudsters during the two months of covid-19 lockdown.
According to official sources, 962 cases of online frauds have been registered in various police stations across Bengaluru March 23 to May 19.
On an average, 18 cases were reported every day. However, this number isn’t unusually high compared to normal times, according to police. The highest number of cases was registered in west division (227).
What baffles the cops is the brazenness with which fraudsters attacked. Many fraudsters duped people in the name of providing jobs, insurance money, Employees’ Provident Fund, renewal of credit/debit cards.
Many people lost money while procuring groceries, alcohol, masks and hand sanitisers delivered at the doorstep. Olx and Facebook scams thrived during the prolonged lockdown.
Police said malicious links were shared on mobile phones asking recipients to download the Aarogya Setu app and seeking banking information, all targeted at stealing phone data.
An officer said many were glued to their phones, and cybercriminals took advantage of this, sometimes pretending to be bank representatives wanting to issue/ renew credit/debit cards.
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