Hyderabad: The Cyber fraudsters are developing innovative ways to trap online jobseekers and escape even before the victims realise that they have been cheated. By the time complaints are lodged, they are able to dodge the police.
The fraudsters target fresh graduates, jobseekers and those who are in immediate need of a job. This is because these sections do not usually check the credentials of those making offers.
ACP, Cyber Crime, Rachakonda, S. Harinath said, “The fraudsters download profiles from online job portals and send them offers. They ask the targets to call on the phone number mentioned in the mail.”
Once when the victim calls them, the fraudsters ask for a certain sum of money to be deposited in their bank accounts.
After the deposit is made, the fraudsters conduct a telephonic interview.
Following this, the fraudsters tell the victims that they have been selected and sends an appointment letter on a fake letterhead, the official said.
Mr Harinath said that it is only when the victim approaches the company that the fraud is exposed. “When the victim tries to call the fraudsters, their phones are not reachable. By this time, the fraudsters had fled to some other place, making investigation difficult.”
They would have withdrawn the money in the meantime.
On average, each jobseeker who falls for the scam is cheated of Rs 1.5 lakh. For highly skilled victims like engineers, doctors and architects, the amount ranges from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. In about 90 per cent of the cases, the victims are lured with job offer within the country, and the rest are promised jobs abroad.
