With increasing number of online frauds being reported, a handful of internet companies in India have approached the Reserve Bank of India and State Bank of India to do their bit in eliminating the fraudsters, an Economic Times report states. The seven firms include MakeMyTrip, Swiggy, OYO, Zomato and Paytm.
These companies have been able to submit to RBI the details of 4,000 SIM card numbers and around 400 bank account numbers to the banks so that action can be initiated. Top telecom companies like Airtel have also been alerted on the misuse of the numbers and their network to cheat customers.
Not stopping at these, the team of seven internet companies have written to internet search engine Google too. Google is important because those involved in the e-frauds manage to have their tollfree numbers and fake companies listed among the top search results on Google giving them a veneer of credibility.
The modus operandi goes something like this: a customer will receive a message or call on his or her phone which will convey that they have been selected as the winner of a prize like a luxury car etc. and would ask them to make a deposit of a small amount to claim the prize. The message will show it has come from some popular brand or company, with the name altered through a single letter being altered. If the customer checks on Google their name and number will come on top of the search engine. The customer will think it is a genuine message and go about remitting the amount demanded.
There has even been a study done on how people respond, and it has been found that there is a 7% success rate for the fraudsters. This means for every 100 calls or messages they attempt with the people at random at least seven people fall for the bait. Depending on how much is the amount asked for this could mean Rs 50,000 to Rs 70,000 in the account of the fraudster.
The more dangerous ones are where they ask for the account details of the customer and ask for OTP etc. Ultimately, it is the customers who end up losing their precious savings. It has been found that the aged and those from the smaller towns and cities are targeted more.
The internet companies may have set the ball rolling but it cannot find success unless all these stakeholders, RBI, the banks, Google and the telecom companies, all work in tandem to stop the frauds. Customer education is another step being taken, but again, it’s a challenge to cover all members of the public. The fraudster needs only 7 out of a 100.