,Hello Divya son, how are you? I am Suresh, your father’s friend. How is work going? Okay, beta. Your father gave me your number. He had to transfer some money but was facing problems. He asked me to take it from you. Can you send it now? It is Rs 3000.,

This was a call I received a few days ago. The caller greeted me very politely and he even knew my name, so for a moment I thought he might really be my father’s friend. But he was not. He was a scammer, not a friend. And unfortunately, it’s not just me. Recently many people have been receiving such calls, sometimes even several times in a month. Scammers often pretend to be close family friends and ask for money citing an emergency or some other reason.

While it is somewhat easy to recognize scams such as fake job offers or stock market schemes as fraud, these new types of scams – where callers present themselves as close friends or family – are more serious and dangerous. Are. The techniques scammers use in these calls are similar to scam cases reported around the world, such as the “Hey Mom” ​​scam, where scammers impersonate distressed children or parents and extort money from the recipient. Request to send. So much so that recently Hollywood even made a film based on this entire complex. In the film, an old woman named Thelma is seen being duped when a caller tells her that her nephew has met with an accident and he needs money immediately for a medical procedure at the hospital.

And now we are seeing that these scams are becoming quite common in India too. A few months ago, we at India Today Tech had shared another similar incident, where one of my colleagues received a call from a scammer posing as an LIC agent, who persuaded him to send Rs 27,000 through PhonePe. Tried to do. You can read more about that case here: “Fake LIC agent, screenshots and my father’s message: Call with swindler shows how Indians are being duped.”

Still, in my case, I immediately knew that it was a scam because the caller only knew my name and when I asked the reason and other details of the money, he started talking nonsense and asked me to withdraw the money. Started instigating to send. However, not everyone may realize this – especially if one receives such calls when one is in the middle of a meeting or is busy or is not very tech-savvy and unaware of the growing web of online scams. Is.

How to avoid scams

Well, it is very important to be alert, because scammers not only reach out through social media, but they also have access to millions of phone numbers and even names. This is probably the basis of all these data leaks that we keep seeing in India, as they apparently give away not only your number and name details to scammers but possibly family and personal details as well. Here are some tips to protect yourself from such scams:

– Always confirm the caller. If someone contacts you for money claiming to be a relative or friend, double-check. For example, I checked with my father to confirm whether he actually had any friends who made such a request. Scammers often create a sense of urgency to pressure you into making a quick decision.

— Be careful with personal information: Never share personal or financial details with anyone you don’t know or trust, even if they seem familiar. Be alert if you receive an unexpected money request, especially from someone you haven’t heard from for a while.

– Trust your intuition. If something seems unpleasant or suspicious about a call or message, don’t hesitate to end the conversation.

— With the increase in online scams, it is more important than ever to stay informed about the latest fraud tactics. Talk to your family and friends to raise awareness and help everyone stay safe.