'Cyber tip of the day': Stay away from unauthorised apps and sites

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Sharing his fifth tip related to cyber scams with the citizens, the City Police Commissioner on Wednesday spoke about how cyber crooks use unauthorized dating applications to extort money from gullible victims.

Explaining the modus operandi of such criminals, Police Commissioner B Dayananda said, "Cybercriminals use unauthorized matrimonial sites and dating apps to prey on people seeking bride/grooms or searching for an online friend," he said.

The top cop further said that the extortionists introduce themselves using fake identities and befriend the victims as the first stage. Later they take the victims into confidence professing that they are in love with them and want to marry them.

"However they lure the victims into making a video call where they ask them to say or act in an inappropriate manner. The criminals, unknown to the victims, record their videos and conversation in order to blackmail them for money in the later stage," he said.

The police chief said that a lot of people have lost lakhs of rupees after they fell into these extortion traps. He also said that several people who got scared by the extortionists have approached the police for help.

"I advise our citizens to check the app or site for authorization before registering or installing it on mobile phones. Further if anyone gets a call from an unknown contact number or an international number, it is advisable to avoid answering it. It is good to block these numbers," said the Police Commissioner asking the citizens not to hesitate to contact the police in case they get trapped in any such scams.