New Delhi: Welcome to the virtual realm of online scams, where innocent individuals can fall prey to the deceptive allure of easy money and false promises. In this digital landscape, swindlers disguise themselves as friendly faces, and lure unsuspecting victims with tempting offers and too-good-to-be-true opportunities.
In the latest case, cyber criminals are using virtual numbers with +92 country code, often associated with Pakistan, to carry out fraudulent activities. This is a worrying trend that India has been taking notice of recently.
Scammers have recently started duping people by luring unsuspecting people into their net using phrases like “bhai dubai se call karega”.
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Under the guise of receiving discounted goods from Dubai, the fraudsters make attractive promises such as the brand new iPhone 14 to potential victims. Victims are not aware that there will be serious consequences for accepting the tempting offer.
According to a TOI article, Virag Doshi, a 24-year-old businessman from Dhandhuka in Ahmedabad district, is one of the recent victims of this virtual number scam. Doshi received a message on his Instagram account on 18 April.
“Congratulations!” Read it. From Big Brother and Little Brother, you have won a free iPhone 14. Just send Rs 3,000 as a nominal fee. Pay through UPI on the designated phone.
Doshi immediately paid a nominal amount of Rs 3,000 as requested through UPI on the given number as he was excited at the prospect of getting a phone worth around Rs 70,000 free of cost.
The next day, Doshi received a call from a phone number with the country code +92. The caller identified himself as ‘Bade Bhai’ from Dubai and promised Doshi that his iPhone 14 and a watch were packed and ready for delivery at the Surat airport. Doshi was anxiously waiting to receive his valuables.
The next day, ‘Sanjay Sharma’ calls Doshi and pretends to be in charge of sending the package. Sharma, who is fluent in Gujarati, demanded an additional Rs 8,000 for the delivery. The convict was compelled to pay in cash as he had faith in the fraudsters. He was disappointed when he did not receive the watch or iPhone that he had been promised.