Do you want to get rich overnight? Well, getting money without any effort is perhaps everyone’s dream. The enticement of easy money has proved disastrous for many. With steady rise in internet-usage, money-making frauds have got a shot in the arm, and unfortunately, there are abundance of simpletons, who are easily trapped. They are befooled through well-planned tempting stories as to how they can possess millions without having to struggle, and convincing them that they are sitting virtually on treasure-vaults. The fraudsters run their show primarily on the strength of innocence and gullibility of people overpowered by their greed.
A short incident narrated here is meant to caution you against internet-related frauds. A neighbor of mine sometimes ago got an sms, apparently from some ‘Dr Wilfred’ congratulating him on having bagged a lottery sponsored by ‘Pepsi’. The amount involved was a few hundred thousand pounds. The message and the amount involved were too enticing to ignore. As he was asked to immediately forward his full name with contact details to the message-sender for receiving this huge amount, he rushed an email response along with all his personal details. So far so good – an obviously tempting news with apparently nothing at stake. Soon he got an acknowledgment from ‘Dr Wilfred’ saying that the issue was receiving his attention, and that for transferring this major amount, the company needed to secure clearances from the Bank of England. The Solicitor’s fee of £300 for this task was to be paid beforehand.
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The man was to too gullible to suspect anything wrong. The greed for quick easy money overtook his sense of prudence and judgement. He borrowed and quietly deposited the amount in a Bank account referred to by ‘Dr Wilfred’. He didn’t have to wait long – another communication was received within days. The sender while thanking him for the money, told him of some unforeseen problems. The remittance was reportedly intercepted by the British Customs, and that he needed to pay them before the money-transfer could take place. This time, the amount quoted was £ 2,500. Unfortunately, the man again believed the story. He was too excited to make any cross verifications. This amount too was paid in similar manner. A third message landed soon thereafter that spoke of certain trouble with RBI. Another sum of Rs 2,00,000 was demanded to tackle the issue.
It was only at this stage that our neighbour got a little suspicious. Why was there no sign of any direct contact so long? Why didn’t he specify about all these problems in the first stage itself? And, above all, why would ‘Dr Wilfred’ be interested in sending money through illegal channels? It soon dawned on him that he was taken for a ride and got badly defrauded. He lost a sizeable amount in the hope of getting rich overnight. Since these fraudsters operate from abroad, the possibility of their being persecuted is remote.
Author : Syed Zafar Ahmad
Designation: Executive Editor
Bio: A freelancer with a flair for experimenting with innovative technology and electronic gadgets that could enrich the life of a modern common man, and a consultant in issues touching every-day life of a computer suave professional.
Bio: A freelancer with a flair for experimenting with innovative technology and electronic gadgets that could enrich the life of a modern common man, and a consultant in issues touching every-day life of a computer suave professional.
