Panaji: Cyber fraudsters duped nearly 500 Goans of about Rs 3 crore in May alone, with all complaints reported through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP). Goa police have registered more than 40 FIRs related to cyber fraud cases till May.Police said fraudsters used a variety of tactics, posing as bank officials, stockbrokers, airline staff, online booking agents and traders to gain victims’ trust before cheating them. Many scams originated through fake advertisements on social media platforms.According to police, victims responding to such advertisements were often redirected to WhatsApp, where fraudsters shared QR codes for payment. After receiving the money, the fraudsters failed to deliver the promised products, leaving victims to realise later that they had been scammed.Police also received complaints from victims who were threatened with the circulation of objectionable photographs of themselves or their family members on social media unless they paid money demanded by the fraudsters.In one job fraud case, a scammer posing as airline staff offered a victim a ground staff position at Dabolim airport. After gaining the victim’s confidence, the accused sought money to process the application. The victim transferred the amount through UPI but never received the promised job.In another case, a hotel employee received a call from a man who ordered five portions of chilli chicken worth Rs 2,500. Claiming he needed a personal number to make a QR payment, the caller later sent a message stating that he had mistakenly transferred Rs 25,000 and requested a refund of the excess amount. Believing the claim, the employee transferred Rs 6,000. He later discovered that no money had been credited to his account.In a separate fraud, a complainant who had posted an advertisement on social media was contacted by a person posing as a prospective buyer. The accused claimed he would make an advance payment through a merchant UPI account and sent a QR code to the complainant. After being persuaded to complete transactions using the QR code, the victim lost Rs 18,000 in three separate payments.
