In this type of scam where the sender requests to help in facilitating the transfer of a
substantial sum of money, generally in the form of an email. In return, the sender offers a
commission, usually in the range of several million dollars.The scammers then request that
money be sent to pay for some of the costs associated with the transfer. If money is sent to
the scammers, they will either disappear immediately or try to get more money with claims of
continued problems with the transfer.
In such matters the victims normally allege that they have received emails from unknown
sources wherein they have been informed that:
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Either they have won a lottery worth millions of dollars; or
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Their help is required for transferring of illegal money from some foreign
Country; or
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Goods/Gifts are offered at throwaway prices; or
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In some cases, the victim's address book in her emailing list is
compromised and emails sent to all contacts from ID asking for money to bail her out
from a perilous situation, hospitalization or los of wallet etc
The victims are trapped in a phased manner and are generally made to deposit a huge amount
of money either as money transfer fee, payment of taxes or transportation cost, terrorist.
The victims apparently receives a spam email and respond to the same and end up paying money
to some unknown persons for a nonexistent purpose. Such crimes are generally carried out
from foreign locations. Money is either deposited in offshore accounts or in some carrier
account in India.
PREVENTIVE MEASURES
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Have you received an SMS or email saying that you have won a prize in a
lottery? It's a scam. Do not respond.
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Never respond to fake lottery winning related calls/SMS/Emails
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Have you received an SMS or email about transferring of money into your
account? It's a scam. Do not respond.
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Have proper spam filters in your email account.
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Follow the thumb rule : Never transfer funds to unknown persons or
entities in anticipation of high returns. This is never going to happen.
ADVISE TO VICTIMS
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Do not respond to calls by unknown persons
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If you received an unsolicited email, do not open any attachments or files
that came with it, as they could contain malware or a virus.
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Do not disclose your private bank or personal details. If you have already
provided this information, then notify your bank or building society immediately.
HOW TO MAKE A COMPLAINT
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Collect Bank statement from the concerned bank of last six months.
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Make a copy of SMSs received related to the alleged transactions.
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Copy of your ID proof and address proof as shown in the bank records.
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Lodge a complaint in your nearest Police Station explaining complete
incident along with the above mentioned documents.