The number of online fraud is on the rise in the country. Social media continually attracts fraudsters, posing a severe threat to peoples trust and hard-earned money. According to law enforcers, the number of persons who fell victim to such online scams is getting longer.
A few cyber crime incidents are reported and a meagre portion of the reported crimes are investigated and prosecuted. But the real number of such crimes is assumed to be manifolds in the country, according to the authorities concerned.
Fraudsters set sophisticated traps. In some cases, these fraudsters are seen lending money on easy terms, and allure people to gambling and different other cybercrimes. They misuse online platforms including imo, Facebook and ask people to bet online through what seems at the time as an innocent ludu match.
Cyber and legal experts said digital or online crimes are gradually causing havoc in the society with various negative impacts on families and youths particularly.
In the evolving landscape of online scams, it is clear that cybercriminals are adapting to the times. Beyond phishing and lottery scams, social media platforms have become prime hunting grounds for fraudsters, who employ a variety of tactics to dupe unsuspecting users.
Cybercriminals recognise the potential to exploit unsuspecting social media users and manipulate the extensive networks of friends and connections that inhabit these digital spaces. Some of the fraudsters have foreign links, say law enforcers. Some also cheated on people in the name of teaching freelancing courses.
The Cyber Crime
Investigation Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) analyzed some 406 cases and found out that there were 98 complaints of online scams which is 24.13 per cent of the total complaints.
Then there are 97 incidents of online harassment through hacking social media accounts. There were 78 cases of deflation and spreading false information online and 72 cases of fraudulence through the mobile financial service system. But there is a tendency among people of not reporting such crimes to the law enforcers until the loss is huge.
On the issue of seeking legal assistance, the woman said she did not want to get into that trouble. According to her, she and her friends were lucky compared to those who lost money to Evely, Destiny, e-Orange and MTFE.
Particularly MTFE, which claimed to be registered in Ontario, Canada with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), dealt in virtual assets and were also operating a multi-level marketing (MLM) scheme by offering its users attractive referral benefits and monthly returns for logging on to the platform. As a result, thousands joined the scam and fell victim to it.
Many victims said they used to invest money at MTFE and earn dividends in virtual currency deposited to the mobile app. All were well, until a few days ago when the app stopped responding. The MTFE used to appoint representatives at the rank of Country Operations Service (COO) to lure investors.
Among the prevalent cyber scams in Bangladesh, creating fake social media profiles is a particularly insidious tactic. These imposters, posing as authentic individuals, engage in befriending their targets, gradually cultivating a false sense of trust.
They noted that most of the cyber-criminals go unpunished, as the investigating officers (IOs) and the prosecution cannot establish charges against the accused due to lack of required skill, training and efficiency in handling such cases, and sometimes due to negligence as well.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of the Cyber Crime Investigation Division said, "Currently, the trend of online fraud is on the rise.
One of the reasons for this is peoples lack of awareness and the desire to earn money more with less investment.
In the process they are losing everything. If the people are not aware, it will not be easy to prevent this type of crime."
