SCAMMERS: A NEW PERIL

THE TRUTH

In today’s world the most common term used is the “Gen Z”. who are these Gen Z’s; well, many demographic analysts refer to the current generation of young people as Gen Z. The Pew Research Center defines Generation Z as persons born between 1997 and 2012. The elders of these Gen z are known as the millennials, everything can go well if few people have their mind right these few people stays with us live with us eat with us but still we ordinary people are not aware of the invisible mask these people wear. “The scammer”, their name itself suggest their identity, no one knows how good they are until you face them without even meeting them.

This may sound unreal but it is what it is; you won’t even realize the scamster can be sitting next to you or sometimes not even know who you are but will take your hard-earned life away from you, may it be your savings, your reputation, something you like anything that have a huge place in your life.

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TYPES OF SCAMS:

There are many types of Scams offline or online whatever is in trend doesn’t matter is a scam. Scams are becoming more common on the internet and via email. Fraud and cybercrime are more likely to victimize you than any other type of crime. Specially the Gen Z are more likely to fall for these traps. Some of the scams that are happening around frequently are; Copycat government websites, Dating and romance scams, Holiday frauds, Mandate fraud, Pharming, Phishing emails, identity theft, UPI fraud, Bank Alert Messages, Credit Card Fraud.

The famous scam in today’s date is the phishing scam; what happens here is that you will get a email from a source that will look familiar to you but that one link will be enough to create a havoc in your life; suppose the link that came is in the name of the bank you have your account in. next by trusting your bank you will tap and open the link, that’s it this one step of opening the link will cost you your savings you have done throughout the years by not spending and saving for the future.

Another one of the scam that is very dangerous is the “Deepfake Scam” let’s take a situation you receive a video/voice call from an unknown number, you receives it the person opposite in the screen introduce them as one of your old good colleague from your office; but you don’t remember the person but he still somehow convinces you that once you both used to know each other, after that he/she talks to you more to make you comfortable, once you are in mood he/she wants they will start to initiate the original plan; one situation that can happen here that he/she will tell you a sad story/ tragic incident that happened recently in his/her life and ask you for some monetary help, suppose you believe the story, you thinking from your emotional side of you; what happens is that by talking he/she gains your trust then after listening to the story you will start to think from your heart not from your mind and that emotional segment of you will win the game of the scamster and once you trust the story you will help the scamster with the amount he/she needs. This is just a case that can happen these people thinks three steps ahead from us. These people can also master in something that no one can think of; another example is of a deepfake stock market scam that is so done smoothly that one can’t even realize what hit him.

According to a TOI report published on August 15, cyber fraud complaints in Delhi have grown by 200% so far this year compared to the same period last year. During that time, fraudsters stole off an even greater sum of money. Police data showed that as of now in 2023, people had been defrauded of Rs 168.5 crore as opposed to Rs 42.6 crore in the same period the previous year.

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REMEDIES:

Where there is a crime there is a remedy, the benefit of people are seen from all point, the helpline number for reporting cybercrime is “1930” one can even avail the benefit of tracking and lodging a complaint through the e-portal of the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.

If someone has done an online fraud and money has been debited from your bank account in which neither you or your bank initiated the transaction but a third party has committed this fraud from your bank account then the Reserve Bank of India has issued certain guidelines that one must follow:

1.????? Within three days: As per the guidelines set forth by Reserve Bank of India, customers who report fraudulent transactions within three days of the incident would not be held responsible for them. Consequently, your individual bank account will receive a reimbursement of the entire sum.

2.????? Within 4–7 days: You shall be subject to a limited responsibility of INR 5,000 to INR 25,000, whichever is smaller, if you file a complaint between 3 and 7 days after the fraudulent transaction. You will receive your remaining cash back after the lowest amount has been subtracted.

3.????? After 7 days: The bank will not be responsible for providing you with a refund if you do not notify them of these unauthorized transactions within that time frame.

An act that addresses the remedies for cybercrimes and cyberfraud exists in India. The Information and Technology Act, 2000 offers redress to Indian people who fall prey to cyberfraud or cybercrimes committed by third parties via the internet. The IT Act, 2000 contains some important provisions to deal with the wrong done against the society.

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INDIA'S PRINCIPAL CYBERSECURITY LAWS

The following are the laws that are now in effect in India regulating cybersecurity:

1.????? The Information Technology Act, 2000

2.????? Information Technology (Amendment) Act 2008

3.????? Information Technology Rules, 2011

4.????? Indian SPDI Rules, 2011 for Reasonable Security Practices

5.????? National Cyber Security Policy, 2013

6.????? IT Rules, 2021

7.????? National Cyber Security Strategy 2020

8.????? KYC (Know Your Customer)

9.????? Reserve Bank of India Act 2018

10.? The Digital Personal Data Protection Act of 2023 (DPDP)

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CONCLUSION:

Government, Banks, RBI always say that they never call or text any citizen of India and to ask for their personal information, bank details, OTP or doesn’t even ask to open any link. “Rbi Kehta Hai Jankar Baniye Satark Baniye” this is a campaign run by the RBI to enlighten the citizens of India about how to protect themselves from the frauds done in the day to day life of the people.?

These campaigns, laws are made for the protection of people but as the people should by themselves be aware of the fact and should consider a responsibility of their own about the increasing frauds/scams in the society. First every person should take self sufficient measure so that they never fall in these kinds of scam and then blame anyone for duping them. As there is a saying “god helps those who help themselves” this proves that one should always be aware of their surroundings and when the time comes, they should be able to think critically and take efficient steps to not to fall in the trap of the scamster.

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