Maharashtra Cyber Department warns citizens of online frauds

The Maharashtra cyber department has asked people to remain alert against online frauds and not to respond to video calls, friend requests from unknown persons and threatening calls from people posing as police officers.

People should not accept video calls from unknown numbers and if the calls get repetitive, they are advised to block the number or contact local police.

An official from the department said, “The state cyber department has received several such complaints and also of people being duped under the pretext of electricity bills, through loan apps and online marketplaces. People need to be aware before applying for anything online or while clicking any link. There have been cases of women seen in objectionable condition in video calls and then fraudsters posing as officers of Delhi cyber police to extort money from people.”

The state cyber department has received around 400 complaints pertaining to callers threatening people by saying their electricity supply will be disconnected due to non-payment of dues. The department urged people not to take loans of small amounts like Rs 2,000 or Rs 10,000 through online apps as many of them indulge in extortion, instead people should go to banks to take loans.

“Also, people should not accept friend requests from unknown persons. In most of such cases, fraudsters use pictures of women, gain confidence of people and then try to extort money from them by threatening to file cases. Before doing any transaction with such callers, people should contact the power company's customer care cell, check their power meter or ask the company if it had hired someone to call on its behalf,” the official added.