Celeb asking you to invest? May be a trap, warn Ghaziabad cops

GHAZIABAD: Police last month helped victims of various online frauds get back Rs 3.6 crore they had lost through coordinated efforts of its Cybercrime police station, National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and nodal officers of various banks.
The largest amount of around Rs 3 crore was recovered in cases lodged with the Cybercrime police station. It was followed by Sihani Gate (Rs 20.2 lakh), Indirapuram (Rs 8.3 lakh), Kaushambi (Rs 7.9 lakh), Link Road (Rs 6.4 lakh), Tilamod (Rs 5.5 lakh), and Masuri (Rs 5.5 lakh).

Police also identified several emerging cybercrimes in the district. Among these is share trading fraud, where criminals use AI-generated videos of celebrities to lure victims into fake investment schemes through social media. Another is the Telegram task fraud, where scammers promise work-from-home opportunities but ultimately deceive victims into paying various fees.
Cops also warned of extortion or honey-trap scams that target men through intimate video calls, which are secretly recorded for blackmail.
There have been several cases of "digital arrest" scams in the past few months, and cops advised people to report calls from "FedEx" or "law enforcement officials" telling them how their documents or bank accounts were used for hawala transactions or other illegal activities.
Officials also asked people to be wary of "customer service officials" asking them to download remote access apps, as these could be potentially used to steal banking information. Cops advised people to use only authorised trading platforms, avoid suspicious task offers, keep social media private, verify caller identities, and only use official customer service numbers.