A 52-year-old woman from Mumbai was recently duped of Rs. 191 lakh by cybercriminals who promised her an international holiday package. The victim, who works as a software engineer, was contacted by the fraudsters on WhatsApp and they convinced her to pay the money in advance.
The victim was told that she would be able to travel to Dubai, London, and Singapore as part of the package. However, after she made the payment, the fraudsters stopped responding to her calls and messages.
This is a classic example of an online scam. The fraudsters prey on people’s desire to travel and they use false promises to lure them into making payments. In this case, the victim was particularly vulnerable because she was working from home and she was not able to travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
If the victim had used Castler Escrow, she would have been protected from this scam. Castler Escrow is a platform that allows buyers and sellers to safely exchange money and goods. When using Castler Escrow, the buyer does not send the money directly to the seller. Instead, the money is held in escrow by Castler until the transaction is complete. This ensures that both parties are protected from fraud.
In this case, the victim would have transferred the money to Castler Escrow instead of directly to the fraudsters. This would have instantly set up a secure barrier between the victim and the cybercriminals. The fraudsters would not have been able to access the money until the victim had confirmed that she had received the promised holiday package.
Since the fraudsters did not have access to the money, they would not have been able to disappear with the victim’s money. The victim would have been protected from this scam and she would have been able to get her money back.
How to Protect Yourself from Online Scams
There are a number of things you can do to protect yourself from online scams:
If you think you have been scammed, report it to the authorities immediately. You can also report it to the Better Business Bureau or the Federal Trade Commission.
By following these tips, you can help protect yourself from online scams.