Alert: The rise of digital scams in India targets senior citizens!

As technology is increasing in India and expanding the digital landscape, digital scams are its negative side. In just a few months, India has thousands of victims who lost lakhs and crores of money through the scams. This happens in the hopes of earning more money or being scared of threats. 

Using the internet, many scammers target senior citizens and use more sophisticated techniques to dupe them for their financial gain. According to reports, the scammers mainly target older people by taking advantage of their emotional and economic distress. 

One incident happened in Bangalore, where a 77-year-old citizen named Lakshmi Shivakumar lost Rs 1.2 crores. This happened when she received a call from a Telecom Department representative. They said that the victim had purchased a SIM card that was being used for illegal activities. He added that the Telecom Department had filed a complaint against her in the Mumbai Crime Branch.

To make it more credible, they duped a call as Mumbai Crime Branch officers accusing her of Rs 60 Crore fraud and demanded her bank details. They received her bank and personal information after threatening her with a fake FIR warrant. They transferred Rs 1.28 Crore to their bank accounts, promising to return it. 

Similar to this, there was another case where the scammers deceived an older woman with Rs 72 Lakhs. The victim got a call saying they were from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) office in Andheri, Mumbai and accused her of a drug case. They stated that she had a connection with a man named Naresh Goyal, who threatened her for the bank account details. 

Later, they scammed her of Rs 72 Lakhs after promising to return the money once the case was solved. 
The main reason scammers target older adults is that they are not up to date with current technologies and digital measures. Secondly, they are emotional and trust the authorities' accusations, which makes them an easy target. 

Security measures: 

Inform older people about the scams happening currently and explain the tactics that the fraudsters use. 
Have regular contact with older people to avoid any potential threats. 
Frequently ask the senior citizens if they received these calls and ask them to avoid such calls. 
Always keep the mobile used by older people with current security software. 

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