Cyber crooks take advantage of lockdown, cheat people worth lakhs in Andhra Pradesh

Vijayawada: The lockdown has provided cyber crooks an opportunity to dupe the people of Andhra Pradesh. A 35-year-old-man from Vizag city was the latest victim and he lost Rs. 1.4 lakh for updating KYC details by downloading an app. Twelve more people in the state have lost their money by downloading apps to update the KYC. Incidentally, other crimes like burglary, rape, and murder have declined drastically as people have been confined indoors.

The cops of Vizag cybercrimes police station (CPP) said the 35-year-old man had received a call asking him to update his KYC details to continue digital transactions. He downloaded the app Anydesk and his money was gone.

The cyber wing of the police is flooded with calls from people who have been receiving frequent calls from fraudsters seeking personal and bank details for a moratorium on EMIs. A police officer advised people to never download apps like Anydesk and Quicksupport because these apps give remote access to the personal devices which allows fraudsters to know the PIN, OTP, and bank details.

Between 23 March and 25 April, 28 cybercrimes, including 16 cases related to financial transactions, were registered in Vizag, Vijayawada, and a few other cities in Andhra Pradesh. People have lost over Rs. 7-10 lakh.

Inspector of Vijayawada cyber crime police station K. Shivaji said people should not respond to SMSs or phone calls that ask them to complete the KYC process or their accounts will be blocked.

Meanwhile, besides the KYC frauds during the lockdown, people in Vizag were also cheated by fraudsters who put up posts online promising to deliver liquor at their doorsteps. The police registered a case following a complaint from the officials of the Prohibition and Excise department.