Everything that seems credible may not always be so

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Cyber criminals are becoming bolder and more brazen, stepping out of their criminal comfort zones to lure people into their traps and divest them of their money.

In fact, so audacious have the cons become, that they are impersonating even top police officers, supposedly secure in the anonymity that the Internet gives them. Cyber criminals created a fake social media account in the name of Mumbai-based senior IPS officer Vishwas Nangare Patil. Currently, Nangare Patil is posted as the Additional Director General of Police (ADG) of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Mumbai. In reports Patil cautioned people that fraudsters created a fake Facebook account in his name. They are chatting with people through this account. Legal action is being taken, however, do not reply to messages sent from this fake account, you may be cheated.

While Patil was extremely quick once this fraud came to light, it just shows the extent that criminals go to, and what they can do to provide a deceptive veneer of credibility to their schemes. This actually follows a pattern, of cons using famous names or even world events to create a sense of urgency, panic, intimidation or confusion, in order to make people part with their money.

Sometimes, it is an ‘agent' of some famous person asking for help as the celebrity has been robbed or lost money and is stuck somewhere. At other times, floods, earthquakes, famines, civil strife is used as a pretext on social media to say somebody is suffering in this situation and you need to help.

This is different from credible NGOs who are aiding in different challenging circumstances across the world and are using funds for a just, good cause. There is a difference between the two. Yet, all this shows us that we need to have our antennae up and watch out for frauds that create a sense of do or die desperation, willing for us to walk into the trap.