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Beware of Internet fraudsters

In his article, “Swindlers and suckers: Made for each other” (June 13), A. J. Philip has highlighted the widespread prevalence of Internet frauds and the modus operandi of swindlers and suckers. Such goings-on are quite common through the medium of posts also, although mind-boggling amounts are not involved.

Quite often, people receive post cards with a simple puzzle printed on them which even a child can solve. The addressees are asked to work it out and post it post haste as only the first 100 entries received by them would be entitled to gifts whose list is enumerated on the card.

The gullible ignorant masses, mostly belonging to the lower economic strata, are easily taken in and do the needful promptly. Invariably all of them are informed about their good luck and despatch of gift packets. After paying a hefty amount for the VPP, the recipients are dismayed to find the contents as dirt-cheap trash items. Hence, I repeat the last sentence of the writer: “Readers, beware of such letters”.

D.K. AGGARWAL, Phagwara

I, too, would like to narrate my experience. I received an email from a swindler in Nigeria. He faked as one of my close acquaintances, Dr O.N. Bhargava, my Ph. D guide. The plot in which the trickster wanted to trap me was almost identical.

Even the language in some parts: “Gone to Nigeria to attend a conference…Lost his money, passport and air ticket…hotel bill remains to be paid…” Since the modus operandi and language used are almost the same, it could be the same person or it could be a part of one particular group of swindlers. And Bright, who has been recently arrested in Chandigarh, could belong to that group. Of course, that is for the police to reveal.

I escaped from getting trapped on two counts. One, Dr Bhargava belongs to a well to do family. He thus could have easily informed his family members instead of writing to me (Dr Bhargava knows that I live on my pension). And two, Dr Bhargava is an earth scientist and seemingly didn’t have anything to do with conference on AIDS-related topics. Probably, the Nigerian mistook Dr Bhargava for a medico and that proved to be his undoing.

Dr K.C. PRASHAR, Dualpur (Kullu)

The writer has rightly warned the readers of the charlatans who dupe the gullible ones through deceptive ads and other dubious ways. In fact, only the persons afflicted with perversely egregious avarice fall prey to scoundrels. In their greed, the potential victims don’t notice the manifest malfeasance in the ad.

Though almost all the money-making schemes put across through the media are too fraudulent not to be perceived by a man with a modicum of intelligence. There are many other messages which are subtle but through which too one can easily see.

It is highly imperative for the government to ban the misleading ads to prosecute their perpetrators.

CHAMAN LAL KORPAL, Amritsar

I fully agree with the gist of this article, “The racketeers are able to thrive only because there are people who are ready to believe them. It may not be proper to blame the Internet when a little search will show that it also provides guidance on how not to fall into their traps.”

When I was a student of Class IV in 1946, we had an English poem: “A good time coming boys…” But at that time, I could hardly visualise that things would be otherwise in the 21st century.

Today there is a mad race for amassing wealth, property and power by hook or by crook. Our politicians are playing with the common people. Consequently, the remedy is proving worse than the disease. We have a 3000-km-long fence along the Pakistan border. Smuggling of heroine continues despite the floodlights and vigil by the BSF jawans!

SUNDER SINGH GIANI, Mohali