Kolkata: The recent surge in cyber scams, including digital arrests, has prompted several market committees in Kolkata to issue alerts to their members. The market committees have cautioned against engaging with the scammers and have requested the members to immediately report any incidents to the police.
The scammers, posing as law enforcement officials, target various people who are unfamiliar with digital technology. The criminals intimidate victims, mostly over video calls, claiming they are under investigation for some "serious offence". They keep them under "digital surveillance", sometimes for weeks or even months, and threaten action unless the victim transfers money or shares sensitive information regarding their bank accounts. They insist on tough action, preying on their victims' fear and lack of knowledge about digital security.
The committee at Bagree Market has cautioned the members via text messages. "The police or bank officials never make video calls. We have told our members not to engage with anybody over video calls, even if they claim they are from any law enforcement agency. They have also been told not to share any sensitive information. We also plan to hold a sensitisation camp for our members," said Girish Vasandani of the Bagree Market Central Kolkata Traders' Welfare Association.
Recently, the president of a market committee in Burrabazar received such a video call. Since he was reading about the cases in the newspapers, he refused to engage with the callers and reported the incident.
Market committees have been organising awareness camps about cyber fraud for the past few years in collaboration with local police. "We keep organising awareness camps from time to time," said Sushil Poddar, president of the Confederation of West Bengal Trade Associations.
However, the spurt in digital arrest fraud and the modus operandi has taken everybody by surprise. "Many of our members, especially older traders, are not tech-savvy and are vulnerable to such scams. They don't know how to verify the authenticity of these calls or messages," said Afroz Khan, secretary of the Traders' Association at Simpark Mall.
"Many traders have elderly family members who use smartphones. They can fall prey to such scams and end up sharing sensitive information about the family's financial fortunes. We have requested them to sensitise the family members too," said Rajiv Changoiwala of Satyanarayan Park AC Market Shopkeepers' Welfare Association.
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