Don’t get conned on social media

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There are a hundred arrows in the armoury of cyber thugs. If you survive one, they are ready with other one.  Refund frauds are becoming common these days. When there is a defect in a product, we complain to customer care, or post our problem on social media. Apart from company representatives, cyber thugs are also keeping an eye on your similar posts on social media. In such a situation, you need to differentiate between corporate representatives and cyber thugs.

In today’s digital age, any of your personal information like name, address and phone number is not limited to your acquintances or relatives. In the age of social media and internet, anyone can get your personal information. Cyber thugs contact you using your information and the game of cheating begins.

Sometimes, cyber thugs contact you and claim that you will get your ITR refund. Sometimes they claim that they will get you refunds from e-commerce sites. They make you download a third party app on this pretext. As soon as you download the app, and give them access to your details, money gets debited from yourt bank account. That’s why you should be wary of people who ask you to download third party apps.

Refund fraud is also being carried out through UPI. This is called UPI refund scam. In this, cyber thugs will call you and say that you have a lump sum refund due.  Even if you do not get any refund, you get lured and accept what they say. This little greed of yours gives cyber thugs the confidence that they can make you a victim.

Cyber thugs try to trap you by using technical terms.  They claim to be  bank officials or from Income Tax Department or from popular e-commerce sites. After this they send you a link through message. They will ask you to register to claim your refund. They ask you to register your UPI.  You will be asked to enter ID or PIN.  They will create pressure by saying that if you enter the details immediately, the refund money will be credited to your account. But as soon as you enter the details money instead gets debited from your account.

Cyber ​​expert Divya Tanwar says that cyber thugs know how to catch your weak pulse.  “When someone posts on social media, then, and if the company is unresponsive, they take these steps and talk about any kind of refunds. By tagging the company and complaining, we hope that it will get resolved as soon as possible. And, if the money is stuck, we get a refund.  As soon as the person in front talks about refund, the troubled customer gets becomes hopeful.”

So how can you avoid falling prey to such frauds?

Whenever soemone contacts you for some type of a refund, first of all you must know if you are really eligible for a refund or not. If yes,  then you  must check  whether the method claimed by the caller is the right one. Do not click on bank or other official messages or links.  If any offer seems too good to be true, that is, an offer which sounds very good but is not possible to be fulfilled, then, be cautious. If there is even the slightest doubt, ask a hundred questions to the caller. Use social media wisely. Stay alert and stay safe from the frauds of cyber thugs.