While online fraud is nothing new, its growing scale and sophistication should worry every Indian netizen, including you.

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) typically receives thousands of cybercrime complaints daily. And now, in addition to payment scams and ‘digital arrest’ scams, scamsters have also begun targeting netizens by exploiting their trust in reputed influencers, financial institutions, and even well-regarded mutual fund brands like us.

How such scams operate

It all starts with impersonation: on platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Telegram, etc., scamsters first create accounts that misrepresent themselves as being associated with well-regarded individuals or organisations.

For instance, here are three Telegram channels and an X account that aim to make people believe that they represent DSP Mutual Fund- needless to say, all are fake.

And this is not too difficult, since social accounts are free to create and logos can be downloaded from anywhere if one wants to be mischievous.

Even popular finance journalists and/ or content creators are not spared. Recently, for example, Neil Borate, the head of the Personal Finance team at Mint, mentioned how he was being impersonated on social media too!

Such impersonators typically do this for one of the following reasons:

1. They copy a known account and initiate contact with the OG account’s followers to build a large following, and then change the name and identity of the account in order to sell the now-large (fake) profiles or to harvest it for ad revenue.
2. They use such accounts to message people to complete simple task like watching videos or similar ‘part-time jobs’ that initially seem simple enough and hence attract many unsuspecting individuals to fall for it, till they then try to use other well-known UPI scams to transfer your money into their accounts to then misuse.
3. Many of these accounts also invoke investing greed in people, by messaging you with offers or courses that claim to be able to deliver huge returns fast. After winning the recipients’ trust, these criminals ask for payment, and then either provide nothing in return or provide a sub-par product that doesn’t even come close to fulfilling the lofty promises made early on or in many cases, simply disappear and/ or block you.

Something like this was brought to our attention by vigilant followers recently. On WhatsApp, scamsters were sending people messages in which they claimed to be a recruiter/ our representative asking people to watch videos. Though most of them recognized such messages as fake and alerted us, a couple even got worried about their data being misused and wrote about this on X- even though these scams have nothing to do with us!

Here are just two (of the at least 10 different numbers/) examples of such messages:

In this case, the goal of this first step is to take advantage of people’s trust in DSP Mutual Fund and lure them with unrealistic offers of quick income. Once recipients express their interest, the fraudsters use a variety of techniques to gather and exploit the recipients’ personal and financial information.

Once again- we would like to unequivocally state that these messages are fraudulent, and that they are not associated with DSP or any of our group companies or related operations in any way whatsoever!

Nothing can beat your own vigilance

Financial scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated both in terms of the technology they use and the psychological weaknesses they exploit. Such scams can have devastating consequences, such as identity theft and significant financial losses.

As a first line of defence, here are some of the red flags you should keep an eye out for:

● Unsolicited messages: Be wary of unsolicited calls, messages, or emails from unknown numbers or addresses claiming to be from banks, financial institutions, or government agencies.

● Too-good-to-be-true offers: If an investment or job opportunity sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Low-risk, high-reward schemes often mask underlying scams.

● Requests for sensitive data: Legitimate institutions will never ask for your OTPs, bank account details, passwords, or other sensitive information via phone calls, SMS, or emails.

You need to protect yourself first and foremost

Here are some guidelines you should follow to safeguard your financial and personal lives:

● Verify sources: Always cross-check claims from unknown sources with official websites or by contacting the relevant institution directly before taking any action.

● Never share sensitive data: Avoid sharing your OTPs, bank account details, passwords, or any other personal information with anyone, especially through unsolicited calls or messages.

● Stay informed: Stay updated on the latest scam trends and educate yourself about financial security. And yes, these trends do take multiple, changing forms almost every week!

● Report suspicious activity: Immediately report any suspicious activities or communication to the relevant authorities, such as the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (helpline number: 1930) or your local police station.

In addition, make sure you secure yourself online by being mindful of the following:

● Strong passwords: Use strong, unique passwords for all your online accounts and change them regularly.

● Regular updates: Keep your devices and software updated with the latest security patches.

● Suspicious links: Avoid clicking on suspicious links, even if they appear to come from a trusted source. Verify with the sender before clicking anything!

What you should keep in mind

Remember: Trusted, well-known organisations will never extend job offers or propose opportunities for financial gain via WhatsApp, social media platforms, or unsolicited calls.

In addition, legitimate financial organisations take your privacy and security very seriously, and will communicate with you regarding your investment details only through official channels on your documented email ID/ mobile numbers/ physical address on record with them.

What you should do next

If you do come across any suspicious messages claiming to be from a reputed organisation, report them on the channel/ platform first, block them from your number and then share such messages with screenshots to that organisation’s official customer care email IDs.

So in case you have noticed any such messages/ groups/ accounts on any platform claiming to be owned or run by DSP, please do the same. Report them as fake/ suspicious, block them and then email us at [email protected].
Our only official accounts are as follows:

X: @dspmf
YouTube: @DSPMutualFund_in
LinkedIn: DSP Mutual Fund
Instagram: @DSPMutualFund
Facebook: DSP Mutual Funds
WhatsApp: DSP Mutual Funds

The MF industry is also taking action

The mutual fund industry is also cognizant of the rise in such issues and has launched its own “Informed Investor Sahi Hai” initiative, on which you can read more and take the pledge below

Stay cautious and always double-check the information you come across in chat groups, websites, and on social media.

Sahi aur galat information ka farq samajhne ke liye, read the article and become an informed investor.

Click here: https://t.co/2Tya18lCWR pic.twitter.com/pHIlht3lGH

— Mutual Funds Sahi Hai (@MFSahiHai) October 19, 2024

Read more here: https://www.mutualfundssahihai.com/bfp/mutualfundssahihai.com/bfp

Stay vigilant, stay safe!