Cyber scammers have now found another route to dupe people, taking advantage of the platform and the people who visit them. After OTP, SMS, call and social media fraud, people have now complained of losing money through connections they build on matrimonial or at times, on dating websites. In a notification, the Home Ministry (MHA) has tried to make the public aware of the fraud, and the ways to prevent any untoward incident from happening.
The advisory, named ‘Matrimony Scam’, talks in detail about the methods used by the culprits. These include creation of fake profiles and then initiating contact with people, especially those coming from high-income groups.
Matrimonial sites are places where users including individuals, families search for their or some dear one’s life partner. The scamsters take advantage of the emotional need of people, and connect with them through fake profiles and IDs. Since income is a key section that people look at while looking for connection, the data is usually public.
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How do scamsters make connections?
According to the Centre’s advisory, the scammers initiate contact with genuine users by expressing interest in marriage proposals and quickly presenting themselves as well-settled professionals (e.g., working abroad, in the armed forces, or in reputed companies)to gain credibility and trust quickly. Then, they use age and income filters to identify and target
individuals who are financially well-off.
The process is not fast, but a steady one. These cyber thieves then connect with people via calls, chats, emails, and video calls on WhatsApp (often using fake or edited backgrounds). They build a sense of emotional intimacy and gradually gain the victim’s confidence and trust
Once they have the other person trusting them, the perpetrators create urgent or emotional situations to solicit money
in fraudulent investment schemes or investing in cryptocurrency promising high returns
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How to prevent this?
Verifying the identity of the person one is connected to is the foremost step in establishing authenticity of the profile. Background check, internet and profile search can show if the person is saying the truth. Moreover, a reverse image search on their photos will provide info if they are stolen from the internet.
The MHA has advised people not to share their private personal details, photos, or financial information with anyone you haven’t met in person.
Also, the ministry said, money should not be transferred online without verifying their identity. If an investment scheme appears too good to be true and provides unrealistic returns in a very short span of time, avoid investing none.
The government said that the National CybercrimeThreat Analytics Unit of I4C has identified a rise in misuse of matrimony
platforms leading to investment scams.
Based on NCRP complaint analysis, it was observed that fraudsters are creating fake profiles on matrimonial platforms like Jeevansaathi.com, Shaadi.com,Matrimony.com etc. or dating platforms (Tinder, Bumble, Ok Cupid etc.) to emotionally deceive and financially exploit individuals who are genuinely seeking relationships or marriage, the MHA statement said. |
