HYDERABAD: As many as 40 per cent victims of cybercrimes related to matrimony fraud and catfish scams are women, officials from the cybercrime station revealed. Based on the victims’ ‘preferences’, fraudsters make profiles to match and lure them into a trap, an official said.
Mobile dating applications and matrimony websites are platforms ventured by catfishers who target victims to extort money, cybercrime officials said. “About 40 per cent of victims are females and 60 per cent are males,” said K.V.M. Prasad, ACP of cybercrimes, Hyderabad.
The most vulnerable groups are the females in their late 20s, single mothers and divorcees. “The scamsters, who often pose as residents of western countries, engage them by providing emotional support to the victims and gain their trust,” the official said.
Explaining their modus operandi, the official said the pattern observed in these cases was the same. “Once the scamster makes contact with the ‘target’ on one of these platforms, the acquaintance is taken forward to other social media platforms, such as Facebook or WhatsApp, where fake accounts have been created to match their dating profiles. Having gained the trust of the target, the scamster demands money under the pretext of paying medical bills of a sick parent or on promises of marriage or future dates. However, soon after the transactions are made, the impostor disappears and becomes a ghost,” he said.
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