Online frauds on rise in Anantapur

Anantapur: Online lottery frauds enticing gullible people to pay levied charges payment on condition of paying lucky prize money is becoming a common factor. Show-casing fortune and prize money, innocent and greedy people are being duped into online transactions and taken for a ride relieving them of money with fraudulent offers.

One, Naaptol Online Shopping Private Limited informed one of its customers named Indira that she was a winner in a random lucky contest worth Rs12 lakh on the occasion of its company birthday. When the customer contacted the designated telephone number, she was asked to deposit levied charges of Rs1 lakh which is not returnable as a pre-condition for release of prize money. When the customer suggested to company to deduct the charges from the prize money, they declined saying it is mandatory to first send the charges before the prize money could be released. A letter sent to the customer was signed by Tilak Rak, finance manager, Naaptol and one Rahul of HSBC bank.

However, on suspicion when the customer contacted the company and asked about the special charges for receiving the prize money, the company representative asked the customer not to be carried away by fraudulent offers made in the name of the company as the company never conducted lucky draw contests. The customer was flabbergasted at the company's astounding revelation.

Another Saki Prem Kumar, who befriended a foreign organisation functionary named Donald Watson in a AG International WhatsApp group was promised 18 boxes of corona masks and sanitiser materiel was asked to deposit Rs 4 lakh for customs clearance and income tax payment for redeeming the materiel boxes. Believing the online contact friend, he deposited Rs 1.12 lakh. Later he was asked to deposit another Rs 2 lakh. He first deposited Rs 43,250 and Rs 24,700 in the bank account of Lawn Zuali , SBI account number 156305589332. He also deposited Rs 45,000 in the name of Manik Kumar Reang in Indus Bank account number 156305589332.

Kumar was told that in box no 4 of the 18 boxes consignment Rs 40 lakh was kept for the benefit of consignment beneficiary and he could do whatever he wanted with the gift.

However, the prospective beneficiary grew suspicious and demanded the caller to explain why he should pay income tax to the gift money when the department is not aware of money deposited in box no 4. Unable to get any convincing reply, he stopped depositing the balance of Rs 2.75 lakh and approached this reporter. He ultimately realised that he had been duped by the WhatsApp contact person. Prem Kumar hailed from an under-privileged community and is a resident of Pilliguntla colony in the town. Many of them had been duped in the name of online frauds. The police are time and again warning of cyber criminals but many are succumbing to evil designs of cyber criminals due to monetary greed.