Staying safe in digital space
We have entered the digital age and while technology has opened many doors to make lives easier for honest, hardworking citizens, it has also opened up numerous alleyways for the more crafty minds to exercise their deceptive 'talents'.
There are quite a few ways someone else's pocket can be loaded up using technology as a tool and you as the victim. First, let's take a look at the classic 'Friend in Distress' act. The first step would be to target a particularly rich person. The next step is a little harder for the impostor- pose as a friend of the said rich individual and hack the unsuspecting friend's social media and/or email account, or make up a whole new one- whichever's easier. Then, it's a simple matter of cooking up a little sob story of how he/she got lost/mugged (preferably both) in an alien area and how some extra cash forwarded to him/her by the friend would totally be a life saver! The messages always mention how soon the money will be repaid and how incredibly grateful he/she is for this little help!
Ahmed Rabib, an executive at a local organization, can vouch for the effectiveness of this method. After all, in his good Samaritan spirit, he bKashed Tk. 3000 to a friend who had messaged him on Facebook, asking money as his own wallet was 'lost' and hence was stuck on the outskirts of Dhaka. A few days later, Rabib met his friend-in-need, only to learn that while the friend had indeed lost his wallet and phone, he never asked anyone for any financial help. It was a clever touch put in by the pickpocket who had not only relieved him of his valuables but his friends too.
Speaking of bKash- there's another way swindlers can use their crafty head to make some quick cash. For this though, he/she's need to be friends with local bKash and Flexiload vendors. Then, it's simply a matter of faking a text message to resemble those automatically generated ones when transactions are made. After that, the charlatan sends the message to an unsuspecting scapegoat, and calls him a few minutes later asking for the money back. Once again, to ensure maximum returns, using the 'sob story approach' is usually a good idea.
If you want pointers on how it's done- simply go on to Facebook and check your newsfeed. You're bound to come across numerous stories of how people have been scammed in these ways, and more often than not, screenshots of messages are usually posted. And the scary part is- the way such posts on Facebook has increased in frequency only implies how little is being done by the authorities to apprehend the perpetrators. It's a shame knowing there are so many kind hearted people who are parting away with their money without double checking only to realize the blooper when it's too late. And since it's Eid season, so everyone is urged to exercise extra caution while dealing monitory issues particularly in digital space.
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