Cyber crime pattern changes in pandemic: From home delivery of liquor, masks, medicines to jobs

The virus of cyber crime has been changing with the coronavirus in the city, show police records.

In March last year when strict lockdown was imposed, various people fell prey to online fraudsters on the pretext of receiving home delivery of liquor cartons at their doorsteps.

Soon thereafter, numerous complaints were received about monetary frauds through online transactions on the pretext of providing N-95 facemasks in bulk, hand sanitizers and thermal scanners. As the second wave hit, complaints were received about cheating on the pretext of providing medicines, including Remdesivir.

Now people, who lost their jobs amid Covid-19, are approaching police complaining about cheating on pretext of providing jobs.

Sources said the interrogation of two men held in Delhi revealed that in the last year and a half, they have duped numerous people from across the country, on pretext of providing employment. They had tricked two city women, Deepika and Chetna of Sector 23. The two were looking for jobs online and had come across an ads on OLX for vacancies in airlines.

Two men identified as Abhishek, 24, who had studied till Class 12, and Anil Yadav, 23, a BCom graduate, were held from Delhi.

At least 15 cell phones and two laptops were recovered from them. They confessed to cheating people by uploading fake vacancies on OLX and procuring charges, including processing and interview fee, from applicants. The complainants had given Rs 60,000 to the accused. The accused used to destroy SIM cards after using them once for cheating.

Inspector Devinder Singh said, “We have been reporting various patterns of cyber crimes since Covid-19 hit. During first wave, many residents were cheated online on pretext of selling sanitizers, N-95 mask and scanners and even liquor cartons.”