The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central Pension Account Office (CPAO) have issued advisories to warn the public about the misuse of their names by fraudsters to cheat people. In a press release on August 29, RBI said, “Unscrupulous elements are using various methods to defraud members of the public by using the name of RBI in some capacity”. The Central Pension Account Office (CPAO) also issued an office memorandum early this month for its processing centres to warn pensioners about fraud in its name.

As fraudsters develop new tricks to fraud people, understanding the ploys they use is vital, especially for senior citizens who may be more vulnerable due to the lack of familiarity with digital technologies or age-related issues. Lately, several cases of fraud by impersonating government officials and targeting seniors have come to light. These fraudsters trick them into transferring money into their accounts, often by threat or pretending an urgency. Unlike hacking or malware crimes, where victims do not share the data directly, in impersonated communications, victims are made to transfer the funds directly to the fraudsters.

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How Fraudsters Cheat People

RBI has categorised the tricks that fraudsters use into three broad categories.

Enticing Tricks: The fraudsters impersonate RBI employees and inform people about attractive offers. According to the bank, “Fraudsters use fake letterheads and fake email addresses of RBI, impersonating employees of the bank, and lure people with fictitious offers such as lottery winnings, fund transfers, foreign remittance, government schemes, etc.” They ask the targeted person to pay the processing fee or some charges before getting the money.

Small and medium-sized businesses are also their prime targets. They communicate with businesses posing as RBI officials and ask them to pay a ‘security deposit’ for a government scheme or a lucrative contract.

Another trick is to pressurise and intimidate the target.

Intimidation Trick: They contact a targeted person through IVR calls, emails, SMSes, etc., impersonating a government or RBI official. Using threats, such as account freeze or deactivation, they trick the person into sharing sensitive information (PIN, OTP, password, login ID, etc.).

Sometimes, they ask the targeted person to download a shared link, intimidating them to do it immediately. They may also inform them about a package containing illegal items in their names and threaten them with severe punishments and penalties if they don’t pay.

Fake Accreditation: RBI has also noticed websites and lending apps claiming to be registered with it for digital lending or as non-banking financial companies, but they are not.

Remember These Points To Avoid Falling Into A Trap

For this, RBI has provided a three-point guideline about what it does and what it doesn’t:

• It does not open accounts for individuals or call them for depositing money. It does not send emails, SMSes, or letters to people offering them lottery winnings or other funds. So, if you get a communication directly from RBI, be alert.
• Never share personal information, account and card details, KYC documents, passwords, OTP, and other sensitive information with an unknown person or agency or on unauthorised websites and apps. Recheck such communication with your bank.
• Ensure that the entities or the apps lending money are registered and accredited with RBI. Check the RBI website for it and not the websites of such entities.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, cyber fraud has increased in recent years. The registered cases were 10,395, 14,007, and 17,470 in 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively.

Early this month, CPAO also issued an office memorandum acknowledging the fraud incidents that were happening by impersonating its officials. Fraudsters contact the pensioners through WhatsApp and send them pension forms to fill out, and they threaten to stop the pension if they fail to comply.

The CPAO has informed all its centralised pension processing centres to inform pensioners about such fraud. It also advises people not to share personal information, like date of birth, pension payment order (PPO) number, or bank account details with anyone. Also, CPAOs, banks, and government departments never ask pensioners for such information.

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Where To Report If The Fraud Has Already Happened:

RBI advises not to respond to such communication from an official or an entity; if there is a suspicious communication, report it. One can report a digital crime to the local police or its cybercrime cell or call 1930. Upon receiving a suspicious communication, they can also report it on the Chakshu facility on the Sanchar Saathi portal.