In line frauds have become a real menace, which are haunting all the middle class & upper middle-class citizens & especially the elderly. Newspapers are full of such reports every day. Many senior citizens have lost huge amounts running in to multi million rupees.
To appraise the residents of GK.1, an interactive meeting was arranged by our SHO, Inspector Bhanu Pratap with the DCP, Ankit Chauhan, IPS on 26th July at Hotel Grand Orion, Kailash Colony.
The main purpose of the meeting was to share an overview of the G.K.1, police station, its functioning; discuss areas of improvement & solicit suggestions.
The meeting was attended by reps of various RWAs, market associations, social welfare organizations & all top officers of police from district south.
To begin with, the inspector of cybercrime cell made a presentation with a slideshow showing different types of frauds, modus operandi of the fraudsters & how to prevent these frauds & how not to fall a victim.
S block has witnessed a few incidents where our members have lost money ranging from Rs 5 thousand to couple of lakhs of rupees.
The latest one (frauds) is calls from so called IGL offices, claiming that bill has not been paid & supply shall be disconnected if bill is not paid immediately.
Some residents panic & start telling them that bill has been paid & then the fraudster will start asking for details of paid bill, Bank account number, aadhar number etc. Once the information is shared, within minutes, substantial amounts are withdrawn from the various bank accounts.
As per the experts, following precautions should be taken to avoid such incidents;
1. Be very careful when you receive calls from unknown numbers especially from MP, Gujarat, Jharkhand Numbers. Do not respond. If someone is genuinely trying to approach you, he/she may send a whatsApp message.
2. Do not be greedy or do not fall for very high rates of returns on your investments or quick returns. Such offers are a sureshot warning for frauds.
3. Keep track of your paid bills. Anyone claiming that bill has not been paid, tell them that you will get in touch with the registered customer care number of the service provider. Call up the regd. number given on the bills. If bill has been paid, do not react, do not respond.
Your IGL connection or electricity, water connection, cannot be disconnected without a written notice from the utility company.
4. Parcels fraud- Do not be afraid if you have done no wrong. Ignore the calls, block the number & report to cybercrime cell at 1930 or 112 or the local beat officer & the SHO.
5. Talk to the beat officers & RWA office bearers for any help & information.
After the initial discussions during the meeting, many residents asked for various measures being taken by police to catch the culprits. However, it seems the fraudsters are a step ahead of the law enforcement agencies & keep on devising new tricks.
Many other points covering the recent spate of theft of water tank covers, traffic problems in G K 1, parking issues, gathering at weekly satsang in residential areas, illegal use of basements, nuisance created by various building sites were discussed.
SHO, Bhanu Pratap has assured all help. Meeting ended after two hours with a vote of thanks & serving of excellent snacks etc.
