Cyber space is dotted with
innumerable instances of online scams and fraud. While some scams are committed
for commercial gains, there are scams intended to quash the mental peace of
mind of the victims. Defamation scams are also profound that tarnish the repute
of the victim, mostly wealthy VIPs or large MNCs. The decision to report a scam
at the earliest can mitigate the consequences to a great extent. But reporting
to the appropriate authority is imperative and can reduce procedural delays due
to faulty protocols.
- Email scams
To report a scam in the case of
faulty and spam mails containing misleading information or phishing mails
seeking to extract confidential and sensitive information like passwords, bank
account numbers and social security numbers. Reporting to the email service
provider like yahoo, Gmail or rediffmail will be effective. These companies
display spam protection options on their website itself where the victims can
lodge complaints. Alternatively, when emails use the name of popular MNCs and
other companies for job or business offers, complaints should be directed to
the genuine MNC whose name is misused. This will be very effective option to report a scam, because when big companies come to know that their name has been
misused, it becomes an issue of concern to them.
- Bank Fraud
Most phishing mails and messages
seem to originate from criminals under the guise of banks and other financial
companies. Gullible internet users see no ploy in disclosing bank details to
the bank itself. Particularly when the criminals cite interesting reasons such
as increasing ceiling on overdraft, grant of personal loan without
documentation or additional limit on credit card. In such cases, the best
resort to report a scam will be the bank itself. As a precautionary measure,
banks send mails and messages regularly not to response to phishing mails. In
case where fraud is committed while using online banking, banks will be quicker
to respond in tracing the trail of funds fraudulently transferred. It is always
preferable to use secure software that most banks offer for internet banking,
which is password protected.
- Hacking Frauds
Hacking is fraudulent way of gaining
access to a computer and stealing or damaging sensitive data and information.
To report a scam in crimes like these involving unethical use of technical
knowledge, subject matter experts will be the right people in finding a
solution. There are number of ethical hackers in the market, who may come handy
in establishing the identity of the hacker.
- Identity Theft
In case of identity theft, fraudsters
are impostors who misuse the name of a person, his signature and his contacts.
They affect the victim by transacting in his name. Examples are taking loan
from banks, shopping in the name of victim, sale of property and taking money
in the victim’s name. Where address has been misused, it is advisable to report
a scam to the postal department. In case of property, the office of the
concerned Registrar may be ideal.
