Himachal calling: State youngsters fall prey to cyber fraudsters, fake apps
Tribune News Service
Shimla, September 1
The dream of living a cushy and glamorous life, shown prominently on various media these days, has made youngsters, including those from Himachal Pradesh, vulnerable to cyber frauds and fake trading and investments applications.
The rise in cybercrimes in the state shows that youth are increasingly becoming victims of these frauds by getting duped of their money, leaving them financially poorer and mentally disturbed.
Most of the youths who use trading and investment optiond are either using their money or borrowing from parents and friends.
As per the cybercrime cell of the Himachal Pradesh Police, this year around Rs 44 crore has been duped by cyber fraudsters during the first seven months of this year and around 260 complaints of cybercrimes are daily being registered in the state.
A college student in Shimla said he used to trade in crypto currency by using an application that asked for a minimum investment of Rs 6,000. “Initially, I was making around Rs 300 to Rs 500 per day. However, after a few weeks, when I tried to withdraw the amount, I was unable to do so. Not only this, after some time, the application also became inaccessible. It was a very traumatic experience as I had taken the money from my parents,” he said.
According to the National Stock Exchange (NSE), more than 3.1 lakh investors, mostly youths from Himachal Pradesh, got themselves registered with the NSE between January 2022 and May 2024. This has shown the growing interest of people, especially the youth, in investment and trading.
As per the NSE, there are around 5.7 lakh total registered retail investors from Himachal Pradesh. As of May 31, out of these, the total number of investors, 42 per cent, are below the age of 30. Similarly, 33 per cent of the investors are in the 30-39 year bracket, while 15 per cent of the total retail investors fall in the 40-49 age category.
There are only 6 per cent retail investors between 50 and 59 years of age. The lowest number of retail investors — 4 per cent — fall in the 60 year and above age group. This also shows that people above the age of 50 are not as much interested in investment and trading compared to youngsters.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Cybercrime, Mohit Chawla, said most of the financial scams, especially those involving trading in share and Forex market, are occurring due to the fact that these tend to lure the victims by promising them exorbitant returns on their investments. “Seeing the possibility of earning a huge amount of profit as well as doubling the invested amount, people fall in the trap of the fraudsters and lose money.”
He said the scammers use pseudo telegram channels and social media pages offering financial advice and tips which are all fraudulent and people should ignore such channels and pages. They also tend to monitor social media activities of a person and lure them by placing advertisements offering lucrative returns..
The DIG advised the people not to click on any unknown link and not to download unknown applications. He also advised the people to immediately report any instance of cyber fraud to the cyber cell by dialing cyber cell helpline number 1930.
‘Tread with caution’
The cybercrime cell of state police said this year close to Rs 44 crore had been duped by cyber fraudsters during the first seven months and around 250 complaints of cybercrimes were being registered daily. The scamsters tend to lure the victims by promising them exorbitant returns on their investments. People are advised not to click on any unknown link and not to download unknown applications. The scammers use pseudo telegram channels and social media pages offering financial advice and tips which are all fraudulent and people should ignore such channels and pages
