Maharashtra Cyber has advised people in connection to the growth of online cyber crimes, and in particular, the sudden floods that have caused heavy loss of life and property in some districts of Maharashtra. In the advisory, the Maharashtra Cyber has cautioned that by taking advantage of such situations, fraudsters have opened fake NGOs and Charity Trusts, asking people to donate money to help raise funds.
Explaining the modus operandi in such scams, police said that the fraudster creates fake online NGOs and charity trusts profiles on social media to mislead the public and trick them into thinking that these are genuine platforms to help those affected due to floods. The fraudster then uploads fake advertisements on the websites, calling for people who want to do their samaritan bit to help the flood victims.
After the victim is lured to these click bait websites, the fraudster then convinces people to donate money for the flood relief and insist on victims making online transactions, instead of giving food grains, clothes. The accused have been exploiting the natural calamity and taking advantage of the situation, said an official.
Maharashtra Cyber, thus requested all the citizens to be vigilant and not trust any unverified news or information you receive on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube.
"Always check the authenticity of the charity trust/ NGOs before making any financial transactions. Verify whether the bank account or payment gateway belongs to the NGO’s/Charity Trusts and do not transfer money to any personal bank accounts", said the official.
People have been advised to register such findings at www.cybercrime.gov.in.
