“I am in the hospital and my UPI is not working. I need some money. Can you transfer? I will return within one hour.”Impersonating as Top Cop aka Police Commissioner Anupam Agarwal a Conman is seeking Money sending fake messages through WhatsApp
Mangaluru: With the help of technology, scammers are tricking people/Mangalureans out of more money than ever before. There have been headlines daily where people are losing money in lakhs to scammers, and there has been no stop to it.
In 2022, reported consumer losses to fraud totalled $8.8 billion — a 30 percent increase from 2021, according to the most recent data from the Federal Trade Commission. Sources reveal that Younger adults ages 20-29 reported losing money more often than older adults ages 70-79.. But when older adults did lose money, they lost more. Many retirees have assets like savings, pensions, life insurance policies or property for scammers to target. With the rise of the digital economy, scammers now reach targets by social media and text, as well as phone and email. Online payment platforms, apps, and marketplaces have also increased opportunities. Still, many of their tactics and strategies are similar.
And here we have a conman using a fake number, impersonating the Mangaluru police commissioner, and trying to seek money with a message saying, “I am in the hospital and my UPI is not working. I need some money. Can you transfer? I will return within one hour.” sent via WhatsApp.
As per the communication from the Mangaluru Police Commissionerate states that people should ignore such messages via WhatsApp and not entertain them. The cybercrime police are further investigating to apprehend the culprit.