The Booming Scam Industry in India (Part-3)

Domestic con artists like these operate from homes and even the fields because all that is required in terms of technology is a cell phone. Whereas hundreds to thousands of US dollars are sometimes taken in overseas scams,

The amount involved in the domestic fraud might be as small as 5,000 rupees, or around $60. Our tour guide brings us to the residence of a local con artist to show how they work. Hello? He is operating what is known as the "army scam," which preys on the community's strong regard for troops.

The advertisement is a hoax. The caller won't ever receive the vehicle. But eventually, it may aid the con artist in obtaining one.

On many areas, entire communities have replaced more violent crimes by specializing in a single con.

There are indications of growth everywhere as the new sector prospers. Scam baiter Sven has been conducting research after gaining access to the scamming business' computer systems.

He travelled from his hometown to Gurgaon, where the scamming business is located and not far from the police station for cybercrime. CJ, Sven's American partner, has communicated with him. 93 complaints have been filed with the Federal Trade Commission against the con artist business, including five from Microsoft's cybercrime division.

Sven wants to get the police to raid the business and shut down operations, just like other scam baiters do. The issue is that fraud when the actual financial transaction takes place outside of India is not explicitly criminalized by law or treaty.

Direct complaints must be filed with the Indian police in order to begin an investigation. Even when the police get in touch with the victims, it's challenging to accomplish that. The courts want a physical, forensic inspection of all the technological tools used in the fraud, even in the presence of a formal complaint.

However, the majority of victims' PCs and the servers used by fraudsters are abroad.

A raid on this scamming scheme in a luxury hotel took place in 2020. The business reserved 35 rooms and was accused of defrauding at least 30,000 people in the United Kingdom and the United States, but they only came under investigation after violating COVID-19 procedure. Even a raid this size seldom results in justice being served.

The activities were momentarily stopped down, as with previous raids, and some of the call center employees were laid go. However, the owners began over somewhere a few weeks later.

Tech support scams are a widespread issue that affects individuals of all ages. Cold calling began with con artists impersonating Microsoft staff and falsely alerting users to virus infections or other dangerous assaults.

This developed into phoney "pop-ups" that were shown on people's computers, aiming to persuade them once more that something was wrong with their machines in order for the con artists to extort money for "curing" fictitious problems.

In order to victimize individuals online, fraudsters have developed increasingly complex strategies in response to the development of technology. Three out of five customers have experienced a tech support fraud in the last 12 months, to name a few highlights.

One out of every six consumers fell for the ruse, and many times the victims lost hundreds of dollars to the con artists. The age groups of Millennials (24–37) and Gen Z (ages 18–23) are most at risk from tech support frauds.

One out of 10 millennials and one out of 10 Gen Zeds that encountered a scam fell for it and lost money. Among those who continued with a scam, the most common issue experienced during the interaction was computer problems (30%), followed by compromised passwords (23%) and fraudulent use of credit/debit/store cards (18%).

There are vast returns to be reaped. Scammers can make enough for a month, or even a year, in a single night, says Leo. “I’m not kidding,” he tells the programmer Undercover Asia. “If you talk about scope, as in how much money there is to be made, its way too big for you to understand it and me to explain it.”