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In a recent incident, a 39-year-old engineer named Aadish from Bengaluru faced a significant financial setback, losing Rs 68 lakh in an online scam. Aadish, who works as a techie, posted an advertisement on OLX to sell his used bed for Rs 15,000. Subsequently, he received a call from an individual identifying as Rohit Sharma, expressing interest in purchasing the bed.
Sharma proposed making a digital payment and requested Aadish’s UPI ID.After a brief moment, Sharma claimed difficulty in transferring funds to Aadish’s UPI ID and asked Aadish to send him Rs 5, assuring a swift reimbursement. Falling for the ruse, Aadish transferred Rs 5 to Sharma’s provided UPI ID, receiving Rs 10 in return. This pattern continued as Sharma, under various pretexts, convinced Aadish to send increasing amounts, totalling Rs 5,000 and Rs 7,500. Sharma reciprocated with larger sums, seemingly creating a facade of a legitimate transaction.
The scam took a darker turn when Sharma falsely asserted that he had accidentally transferred Rs 30,000 to Aadish’s account. Sharma then manipulated Aadish into returning the money by clicking on a link and sharing the OTP (One-Time Password). Tragically, this led to Aadish losing substantial amounts from his account in a fraudulent scheme.
What is an OTP scam?
An OTP scam is a fraudulent attempt to trick you into revealing your one-time password (OTP) in order to gain access to your online accounts or steal your money. OTPs are short, temporary codes that are often used as an extra layer of security for online transactions.
How scammers make use of the OTP scam
Scammers can use a variety of methods to try to trick you into giving up your OTP, such as:
* Phishing: Scammers may send you emails or text messages that appear to be from a legitimate company, such as your bank or credit card issuer. These messages will often contain a link that, when clicked, will take you to a fake website that looks like the real website. Once you enter your OTP on the fake website, the scammers will be able to steal it.
* Vishing: Scammers may call you and pretend to be from a legitimate company. They may ask you for your OTP or other personal information.
* Smishing: Scammers may send you SMS messages that contain a link. When you click on the link, you may be taken to a fake website or you may be infected with malware that can steal your OTP.
Here are some tips for staying safe from OTP scams:
* Never give your OTP to anyone, even if they claim to be from a legitimate company.
* Be careful about clicking on links in emails, text messages, or phone calls.
* If you are unsure about the legitimacy of a message, contact the company directly to verify it.
* Use strong passwords for all of your online accounts and change them regularly.
* Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on your accounts whenever possible.
Sharma proposed making a digital payment and requested Aadish’s UPI ID.After a brief moment, Sharma claimed difficulty in transferring funds to Aadish’s UPI ID and asked Aadish to send him Rs 5, assuring a swift reimbursement. Falling for the ruse, Aadish transferred Rs 5 to Sharma’s provided UPI ID, receiving Rs 10 in return. This pattern continued as Sharma, under various pretexts, convinced Aadish to send increasing amounts, totalling Rs 5,000 and Rs 7,500. Sharma reciprocated with larger sums, seemingly creating a facade of a legitimate transaction.
The scam took a darker turn when Sharma falsely asserted that he had accidentally transferred Rs 30,000 to Aadish’s account. Sharma then manipulated Aadish into returning the money by clicking on a link and sharing the OTP (One-Time Password). Tragically, this led to Aadish losing substantial amounts from his account in a fraudulent scheme.
What is an OTP scam?
An OTP scam is a fraudulent attempt to trick you into revealing your one-time password (OTP) in order to gain access to your online accounts or steal your money. OTPs are short, temporary codes that are often used as an extra layer of security for online transactions.
How scammers make use of the OTP scam
Scammers can use a variety of methods to try to trick you into giving up your OTP, such as:
* Phishing: Scammers may send you emails or text messages that appear to be from a legitimate company, such as your bank or credit card issuer. These messages will often contain a link that, when clicked, will take you to a fake website that looks like the real website. Once you enter your OTP on the fake website, the scammers will be able to steal it.
* Vishing: Scammers may call you and pretend to be from a legitimate company. They may ask you for your OTP or other personal information.
* Smishing: Scammers may send you SMS messages that contain a link. When you click on the link, you may be taken to a fake website or you may be infected with malware that can steal your OTP.
Here are some tips for staying safe from OTP scams:
* Never give your OTP to anyone, even if they claim to be from a legitimate company.
* Be careful about clicking on links in emails, text messages, or phone calls.
* If you are unsure about the legitimacy of a message, contact the company directly to verify it.
* Use strong passwords for all of your online accounts and change them regularly.
* Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on your accounts whenever possible.
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