Fraudsters targeting families of students

Cyber fraudsters posing as police officers are targeting parents of schoolchildren. They tell their victims that their wards have been arrested and demand money for their release. Several parents of children studying in the same class of a reputed school in Sector 26 got such calls on Friday.

One of the parents said the caller first asked about her husband and then said her daughter, a Class XII student, along with four boys, was in police custody in a drug case. “For a moment, I froze and couldn’t understand what was happening. The caller told me that my husband, who was abroad, wasn’t answering the phone calls made by the ‘police’,” she recalled.

Report to Cyber Crime Helpline 1930

• Avoid answering calls from phone numbers displaying only nine digits.
• Report any suspicious calls to the Cyber Crime Helpline 1930.
• Always verify the identity of callers before engaging in conversation.
• Do not share personal information with unknown callers.
• Never transfer money to unfamiliar numbers.
• Be aware that police officers or other law-enforcement agencies will never contact you via WhatsApp or Skype.

The fraudster instructed her not to hang up. “They knew my daughter’s name and age. I was made to speak to a girl on the phone. She kept crying and saying she didn’t do anything,” she added.

The caller demanded Rs 50,000 to release the girl. However, the woman disconnected the call and contacted her child’s school to verify the caller’s claim. “I spoke to my daughter and was relieved to know that she was safe in the school,” she added.

She came to know in the evening that the parents of many other children studying in her daughter’s class also received similar calls. “A parent narrated a similar story when I went to pick up my daughter from the school. I got a call from the fraudster around 10 am and within 20 minutes, the other parents also received such calls.”

It can’t be a coincidence that the parents of several children from the same class got a call the same day. The details of children and their parents have been compromised. “The parents of three of my daughter’s former classmates, who had left the school many years ago, also received similar calls,” she added. These fraudster also use a new tactic known as “digital arrest” to coerce victims into transferring money immediately, without giving them time to think or consult others.

Cybercrime officials have reported a significant rise in such scams recently. “Around four complaints of people getting duped with the similar modus operandi of digital arrest are received every month,” said a police official.

The official said, “Although awareness about this method adopted by cyber fraudsters is increasing, many parents are still at the risk of falling into their trap.”

Student info compromised

It can’t be a coincidence that the parents of several children from the same class got a call the same day. The details of children and their parents have been compromised.

Four complaints received every month

Around four complaints of people getting duped with the similar modus operandi of digital arrest are received every month. Fraudsters tell people that a courier package in their name has been found to be carrying drugs or their children have been arrested in some case.