Delhi Journalist Nearly Swindled Out Of Rs 25,000 By ‘Fake’ Friend With US Number

Over the past few years, the use of the internet and social media platforms has been on the rise and so has the trend of scams and frauds. Scamsters have found new ways of tricking people which could almost make anyone fall into their trap. The new ways of scams are so innovative and realistic that you will actually believe that the person asking for money or such favour is a known person rather than a fraud. Recently, one such case has been revealed on X (formerly Twitter) in which a Delhi-based journalist was asked by a ‘man with international number’ to purchase several Apple store cards online without transferring any money to him.

The journalist named Pratap Vikram Singh shared a few screenshots on X in which his chat with a person impersonating co-founder and CEO of The Ken, Rohin Dharmakumar, was revealed. In the screenshots, Dharmakumar told Singh that he was in a conference meeting and he needed something done urgently and discreetly. 

Hi @ rohin is that you :p@TheKenWeb pic.twitter.com/qMzvPWFaSp

— Pratap Vikram Singh (@PratapVikramSin) May 20, 2024

What Went Down

When Singh asked him what the job was, Dharmakumar said that his clients needed 5 Apple gift store cards, Rs 5,000 each.

Singh agreed to do the job but he was a bit hesitant in doing online transactions as he did not like sharing data. However, Dharmakumar was adamant and offered to guide Singh in the process. When the latter asked the former to call him to explain the process, the former again dodged the situation by saying that he was in a conference.

When it was clear that Singh would not go ahead with the process, Dharmakumar played the trust card and said, “Don’t you trust me well enough? That would be really disappointing for me.”

In the end, it looked like Singh did not go ahead with the transaction and saved him his hard-earned Rs 25,000.

What Action Did Singh Take

Singh did not reveal whether he had filed any police complaint regarding the matter or not, however, he made a tweet about it while tagging Cyber cell and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India as the scam was done by a WhatsApp number pretending to be Dharmakumar. 

attention @Cyberdost @TRAI #MHA #I4C https://t.co/0VJH0dQ9Es

— Pratap Vikram Singh (@PratapVikramSin) May 20, 2024

It remains unclear as to how the scamster got the details to carry out this fraud but, everyone should take a lesson from it. Users should maintain caution whenever dealing with unknown numbers and make sure to not divulge much information unless they really know the person they are talking to.

In case you are about to make any financial transaction, it is highly advisable to confirm whether the transaction you’re about to make is a genuine one or a fraud. In cases when you can’t decide that yourself, you may always give a ring to the National Cybercell on 1930.