New Delhi: Enter the virtual world of online scams, where innocent people can fall prey to the deceptive lure of easy money and false promises. In this digital landscape, fraudsters disguise themselves as friendly faces, luring unsuspecting victims with tempting offers and too-good-to-be-true opportunities.
In recent cases, cybercriminals have been using virtual numbers with +92 country codes, often associated with Pakistan, to conduct fraudulent activities. This is an alarming trend that India has noticed recently.
Fraudsters have recently started deceiving people by using phrases like “Brother will call from Dubai” to lure the unsuspecting to fall into their trap.
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Under the guise of getting discounted products from Dubai, con artists make enticing promises to potential victims, such as a brand new iPhone 14. Victims don’t know that accepting the tempting offer will have serious repercussions.
According to a TOI article, Virag Doshi, a 24-year-old businessman from Dhundhuka in Ahmedabad district, is one of the latest victims of this virtual number scam. On April 18, Doshi received a message on his Instagram account.
“Congratulations!” Read it. From Big Brother and Little Brother, you win a free iPhone 14. Send only Rs.3,000. Pay through UPI on specific phones.
Doshi immediately made a nominal payment of Rs 3,000 as requested through UPI to the given number as he was excited at the prospect of getting a phone worth around Rs 70,000 for free.
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 eagerly waited to get his valuables.
The next day, ‘Sanjay Sharma’ called Doshi and pretended to be in charge of sending the package. Sharma, fluent in Gujarati, asked for an additional Rs 8,000 for delivery. Doshi is forced to pay in cash because he trusts con artists. To his dismay, he never received the watch or the iPhone he was promised.
