Cyber scammers posing as Interpol, CBI officials on the prowl, say Pune police

Police said cyber fraudsters claiming to be officers of these agencies contact people through different social media platforms.

Police said cyber fraudsters claiming to be officers of these agencies contact people through different social media platforms. (File Photo)

Pune city police have issued an alert against cyber fraudsters posing as officials of agencies like the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol), Intelligence Bureau (IB), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) for cheating people through various online scams.

In a press release issued on Friday, the Pune city police have appealed to the people to be aware of online scams like “trading fraud, task fraud, FedEx fraud, a man in the middle fraud, Facebook (FB) friend request fraud, matrimony fraud, sextortion and loan app fraud.”
Police said such frauds are on the rise across the country and those cyber scammers involved in these crimes are misusing the names of police and central agencies like Interpol, IB, CBI, etc.

Police said cyber fraudsters claiming to be officers of these agencies contact people through different social media platforms. Fraudsters send forged documents to people and show threats of different legal actions, they ask people to transfer huge amounts of money online into various bank accounts. The money is later siphoned off by the fraudsters.

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Police also said that in some scams, cyber fraudsters send links to the cell phones of people asking them to click on it and submit information for updating KYC, payment of electricity bills, booking travel tickets online, hotel room registrations and courier cancellations.

But soon after people submit the information on the fraudulent link, huge money is transferred from their bank accounts. Police have asked people to be cautious about such cyber scams and avoid making any one online payments without proper verification.

Call police

Police said citizens should be aware of fake emails and suspicious phone calls. Also, the victims of cyber frauds should immediately contact the cyber police station at 020 – 297710097, 7058719371 or the 1930 helpline number. Victims can also register their complaints online on the website ‘cybercrime.gov.in’, the press release stated.

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