Pathanamthitta: Widespread attacks by international cyber criminals targeting residents of Kerala are being reported recently and numerous complaints are raised regarding online, phone and social media frauds. One of the latest incidents involves a man in Kozhencherry in Pathanamthitta district who received a call from Pakistan on Friday.
Incidentally, the District Police Chief had issued a public alert against cyber criminals after Dr Geevarghese Mar Coorilose, a former head of the Niranam diocese of the Jacobite church, became a victim of an online fraud.
The man in Kozhencherry was told by a video call that his son, who is in the UK, was in police custody and he should pay Rs 50,000 for the release. The phone number of the call was based in Pakistan and the caller spoke in English and Hindi. However, the Kerala man became suspicious and immediately contacted his son, who said no such incident had taken place and he was safe.
Subsequently, the Keralite called back on the Pakistan number, but nobody attended the call. When he tried again, a child of around 10 years took the call. Some adults were seen behind the child and they disconnected the call. The Kozhencherry man called the number once more, but there was no response.
On Saturday, the Keralite received a call from another number, claiming to be from the telecom centre, which said that all his phone connections would be disconnected. The caller also instructed the Kozhencherry man to press ‘9’ on his phone to avoid disconnection. But the Keralilte sensed the fraud and immediately cut the call. He also registered a complaint with the Kerala Cyber Police.
Call from ‘CBI’
In another attempt to carry out a cyber crime, Joy Chacko Muttathuvayal, a resident of Athirampuzha, near Ettumanoor in Kottayam district, was threatened by a caller who claimed to be a CBI officer.
The caller told Chacko, the president of Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Athirampuzha panchayat committee and Malayala Manorama’s Caris Bhavan agent, that his son was involved in a case and demanded money for his release.
In the WhatsApp call, a young man said that he was a CBI officer and demanded Rs 35,000 as an online transfer to save Chacko’s son from what he claimed was a very serious case. Incidentally, the fake CBI officer had mentioned the full name of Chacko’s son, including initials. The caller spoke in a mixture of English and Hindi, said Chacko.
Even though Chacko was initially shocked on receiving the call, he quickly remembered the news reports regarding cyber frauds and responded casually to the purported CBI officer’s serious tone. Chacko cut the call after telling the ‘CBI officer’ that he was busy at work and would call back.
On reaching home, Chacko spoke to his son and confirmed that the call was a fake. Chacko then called the CBI officer back several times, but there was no response and he soon filed a complaint online with the Cyber Cell.
Drug case
A similar incident was reported from Changanassery also, where a home-maker received a WhatsApp call on Friday from a man claiming to be a CBI officer, who said that her daughter was arrested in a drugs case and demanded money for her release. However, the woman was alert and prevented the fraud. Coincidentally, the profile pictures of the WhatsApp number from which she received the call and the number which called Chacko in Athirampuzha were the same.