If a stranger you met for the first time on a metro asked you to give him Rs 10,000, would you do it? You don’t have his contact details. You don’t have his identity proof. And, no, you don’t know if the money will be returned.If you are shaking your head in disdain at the sheer naivety of the person who would give out his hard-earned money, take a look in the mirror. It could be you. Or, perhaps, it is you, if you were among the 36% of people who have been cheated in Internet scams, according to a survey by Telenor (see ‘Rising incidence...’) early this year.The easy access to victims is the reason they are readily stalked by fraudsters—whether you use a smartphone or a computer, are logged into social media or pay online bills, buy gadgets from an ecommerce website, or withdraw money from an ATM, you are a sitting duck. It helps if you have poor tech skills, trust freely and are lured by easy money.As per the RBI data, 11,997 cases related to ATM, credit and debit cards as well as Net banking frauds were reported by banks in 2015-16. This, besides the 49,455 cyber security incidents, including phishing, scanning, malicious code, website intrusion, etc, (see ‘Scam terms’) that were reported by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), in 2015. If, however, you take into account the unreported cases, these figures are a fraction of the frauds being unleashed in the country.A new breed of scamsters is coming up with ingenious ways to circumvent security measures. “Earlier, an individual was hacking while sitting in a garage. Today, it is a more organised market, with syndicates all over the world using sophisticated ways to indulge in identity theft,” says Mohan Jayaraman, Managing Director, Experian Credit Bureau (India), a global analytics firm that has just launched a tool to measure the probability of fraud in banking and insurance.So rampant is fraud that RBI Deputy Governor S.S. Mundra has reiterated the need to provide relief to customers. “The RBI is examining whether to issue regulatory direction with regard to limiting the liability of customers on fraudulent transactions arising out of frauds and electronic banking transactions,” he said at an event organised by the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India, in May this year.But prevention being the better option, you need to protect yourself from the omnipresent scamsters. In the following pages, we shall tell you not only about the various modus operandi being used by scamsters but, more importantly, the ways in which to secure your finances and seek redressal if you are cheated.Ensure that the website, seller and payment modes are secure before you binge on e-commerce sites.There is no doubting the convenience of online shopping, be it for electronic gadgets or household appliances, clothes or furniture. Sadly, this has also led to new cheating techniques and sale/delivery loopholes.When you order online, it’s possible that the product may not be delivered at all, or that you land a fake or damaged product. You may even get an empty package or, worse, one filled with stones. Ask Ghaziabad-based Santosh Kushwaha, 32, who ordered an iPhone6 worth Rs 46,000 in 2015. “The packaging was flawless. It was laminated, the weight was right and it wasn’t tampered with. But when I opened it, I found the box filled with stones,” he says.The problem can occur at any stage, for which you need to understand the sale and delivery process. There are sites that sell and deliver their own products like Fabindia. There are others that serve as a platform for various sellers. These are marketplaces, like Flipkart, Amazon or Snapdeal, which host products by different brands and sellers. These products may be delivered either by the site itself or the seller. In most cases, it’s the seller who delivers. Some sites also provide special services, wherein product quality and delivery are guaranteed, for a premium. Here the site sources products from other sellers but conducts quality checks and delivers them itself. For instance, Flipkart is set to launch FAssured, promising improved delivery service and stricter quality checks, while Amazon Prime is the paid service that offers similar advantages to its members. Here are the various points at which fraud can occur:Tech-savvy scamsters set up sites that look like genuine ones with similar logos and domain names. Some may create a dummy site with a product line-up that only exists online. The purpose is to extract money from vulnerable buyers and disappear.If you have not received a product, or it’s damaged or fake, the scam could be by the seller or courier company, not the site itself. Though such sites scan the sellers hosted by them, weeding out frauds by checking themselves or going by buyers’ ratings, it is not possible to identify all scamsters.Here, both the site and seller may not be to blame. If they fail to choose a reputed courier and go for cheaper fly-by-night operators, you could land a dummy package. A specific errant employee of the courier firm may also be responsible for the fake delivery.If you want to try out new sites, make sure to check the domain name. Ensure the URL has ‘https’ (not just ‘http’) and a lock icon, and check the site’s spelling. To find out who owns a particular domain name and if it’s genuine, log in to https://registry. in/WHOIS, which is a searchable list of every domain currently registered in the world. If the site does not offer any contact details or has a vague exchange or return policy, abandon the site. You could also check the company’s trust rating on http://www. scamadviser.com which will give you all the details about the firm and how safe it is to shop from the site. “Make sure the company has the right infrastruc ture, wherein you are able to track delivery and payment informa tion,” says Jayaraman of Experian.If you have picked an established site, opt for product assurance services, if any. If you don’t wish to pay extra, go through the buyer reviews and ratings for the seller to find out if he has a good reputation for delivery. “We take strict action against sellers who attract negative feedback about their service or are found to be engaged in selling products that are fake, in violation of copyright or any other applicable laws,” says the Flipkart spokesperson.As for payment, avoid direct payment to sellers. Opt for payment services like PaisaPay in eBay, which ensures that the seller is not paid by the site till the product is delivered, safeguarding your money. Also, do not pay via electronic bank transfers because it is difficult to retrieve the money once it has left the bank. Opt for payment via credit card that has a low credit limit and is used exclusively for online shopping, or for cash on delivery, to minimise risk. “An important safeguard is to make a video recording of the delivery, starting when the courier arrives till the package is opened, in a single loop without breaks,” says Kushwaha. This is what served as proof and helped him get his money back, he says.The first step is to get in touch with the website or the seller. If it’s a fake site, it’s impossible to seek redressal. Consider your money lost.If you have opted for a safe site with a guaranteed exchange or money-back policy, you could write to the site, detailing the fraud, product details and mode of payment without giving sensitive information like your bank account number, etc. The site will conduct its verification within a specified time and revert. If the site doesn’t respond, you could escalate it by registering a complaint with the district or state consumer redressal forum.A good option is to put up the grievance on consumer complaint boards/sites. You could also upload your complaint or video on micro-blogging sites like Twitter with the company’s handle. “The site was taking its time to resolve my issue, but when I posted my video on Twitter with its handle, the site responded immediately and my money was refunded in four days,” says Kushwaha.Be cautious while interacting on such sites and conduct background checks before giving away money for a good cause.The popularity of social media like Facebook, micro-blogging sites like Twitter, dating sites, online consumer compaint forums, charity and crowdfunding sites have spawned a fresh set of scamsters that preys on the personal information posted unwittingly by members.There are various online shopping sites that require you to log in through Facebook or mail and this can be an easy entry point for fraudsters, who can misuse your bank details, phone numbers or mail login and password to clean out your account.Beware also of friends’ friends who ask you for money. They could have hacked your friend’s account, created a duplicate one, sent requests to the friend’s friends and asked for money. “One of my relatives, who is a scamster, asked several of my Facebook friends for money and two of them even ended up paying her,” says Vidya Nagraj, a Chennai-based consultant.Be careful what information you volunteer on such sites. “I had put up my complaint regarding a wrong bank account number I had provided to an online shopping site for a refund,” says Varun Kapila from Bengaluru. “I got a call from a person claiming to be from the site, who requested the correct account number. I didn’t suspect anything and gave it to him. My account was soon wiped out, but thankfully it did not have too much money,” he adds.Despite the noble sentiment involved, be wary about giving money without verifying the claims of the backers. On 26 February 2016, an Indian American, Manisha Nagrani, was arrested in the US for raising thousands of dollars via crowdfunding to help cover the cost of treating her blood cancer. She had been perfectly healthy all along.Though this is more common abroad, it’s not completely unknown in India. If you befriend someone on a dating site and the person starts demanding money for travelling to meet you or other emergencies, medical or otherwise, know it to be a fraud.You may not be able to seek redressal or have legal rights to claim the money lost because you either volunteered the money or information yourself. So the best you can do is avoid these. “Expose yourself only to the people you know on social media,” says Jayaraman. Don’t give money without knowing how it is going to be used and make sure to use secure payment channels while giving money to charities or for crowdfunding. Banking fraud may be among the top online scams, but the RBI is in the process of reducing the liability of the customer.According to the RBI, incidents of bankrelated fraud, including cards, ATMs and Net banking, have risen from 8,765 in 2012-13 to 11,997 in 2015-16. “With the introduction of ‘Chip and PIN’ security feature, we have noticed a significant reduction in incidents of fraud in credit cards,” says Vijay Jasuja, CEO, SBI Card. But the sheer volume of online and offline transactions makes it a fecund ground for fraud.Essentially, the only way to cheat when it comes to banking transactions is through identity theft, wherein your credit/debit card details or your bank account information is stolen. It is this theft that is carried out in a variety of ingenious ways by scamsters.During e-shopping or bill payment, if you do not choose a safe site or payment channel, it is easy to steal your card information by intercepting the data. You can be routed to a fake site or the data can be copied through keystroke logging. Pharming ensures that the fraudster has your bank account or credit card number and CVV, which can be used for online transactions. Malware or virus can also be introduced in your computer which provides access to all the details stored in your e-mail. If you have saved your passwords and login details, these can be easily stolen. “Besides phishing and vishing, malware and breach incidents are the emerging threats when it comes to frauds,” says Sanjay Silas, Head, Branch Banking, Axis Bank.This is a relatively new technique, wherein the scamster contacts the mobile operator with fake identity proof and gets a duplicate SIM card. Your original SIM is deactivated by the operator. The fraudster generates one time password (OTP), which appears on his phone, and he carries out online transactions.“Vishing has become popular in the past few years and is done via a phone call. Customers, unknowingly, share their CVV number or OTP which is used for identity theft,” says Jasuja. Hyderabad-based Bharat Naidu (see picture) knew better. “Last year, I got a call allegedly from Citibank, saying my points were about to expire and that they would transfer it to a new card, for which I would need to give the old card’s CVV. I knew what was happening and gave them the wrong number,” he says. Frustrated after a few attempts to get the details, the caller gave up. A month later he got a similar call. At that point he called up the bank and asked them to replace the card. You should also be suspicious of any mails that ask you to give sensitive information.There are some apps that seek access to the data on your phone. Ensure that the app is safe because it is an easy way for fraudsters to seek critical information stored on your phone.If you use laptops in public areas or conduct mobile transactions over public Wi-Fi, it can be intercepted and your card details stolen.This is another hot spot for fraudsters to gain access to your card data and PIN. Scamsters use hidden cameras and skimmers to gain information (see Are you likely to be conned?) from ATMs. Mumbai’s Girish Nair (see picture) knows it well. “When I went to withdraw money from an ATM, the machine stalled. Later, I realised that the money had been withdrawn shortly after I had left,” he says. He believes that the three men in the booth at the time had rigged the ATM and taken the cash.Be alert, install protective features on your phone and computer, and educate yourself. Here are some steps you can take to avoid fraud:This will help detect a transaction you haven’t made. In such a case, call up the bank’s customer care number (see Call your bank...). Also, if your mobile stops working for unusual reasons, check with your mobile operator.“Never give Net banking password, ATM or phone PIN to anyone or respond to unknown mails or calls asking for account details,” says Silas. Adds Jasuja: “No bank or credit card firm personnel is authorised to ask a cardholder for his card details.”“While entering the CVV on a site, ensure it is masked by asterisks and the number is not visible on screen. This is especially important when shopping on foreign websites where the CVV number is the only point of verification and approval,” says Jasuja. Also, while transacting on websites, use a virtual keyboard to avoid keystroke logging and while using an ATM, cover the keypad with your hand.Many websites ask to save credit card details for future purchases. “But one should never ever save this information,” says Naidu. Neither should you do it on any server, desktop, or mobile to avoid skimming and other frauds.The moment you fear your credit card or bank account details have been compromised or a fraudulent transaction has taken place, call the bank and have the card blocked. Follow it up with a written complaint and declaration. The bank should respond in 30 days, and if it doesn’t, lodge a complaint with the ombudsman (https://www. rbi.org.in/commonman/English/Scripts/AgainstBankABO.aspx).If this doesn’t help, complain to the district consumer redressal forum and then to the court of law.Phishing and vishing are among the most prevalent of frauds to have emerged in the past couple of years.One would assume cheating someone over the phone or mail would be difficult, but it’s probably one of the easiest ways. All it takes is confidence and smooth-talking on the part of the fraudster. Besides vishing and other attempts to snare credit card information over the phone, there are other ploys to not only draw out sensitive information, but also make you pay money. This happens not only via phone but also mails. The Nigerian advance fee and lottery scams have given way to new excuses to steal your money, almost all of them demanding some sort of payment for bigger rewards.If you get a call or mail, saying some of your forgotten policies are due for maturity and that you need to pay some money to secure this amount, know it to be a fraud.According to the Telenor survey, this is the most common form of Internet scams accounting for 39% of frauds. This will typically entail an enticing job offer that requires you to first pay some fees and charges to be able to entitle you for the job. You are asked to deposit the money in a bank account and will never hear from the caller again.This scam involves securing basic information from any forms you have filled in any of the offline shops. You are then offered a free gift for being a valued customer, but of course, you have to pay a small charge. Similarly offers of interest-free loans that require paying a processing fee should be ignored.If you get an urgent call saying your PIN is going to be deactivated, or account closed, and that you need to share your bank or card details to continue operating it, ignore it. Similarly offers for new credit cards or redemption of points that require divulging details should be avoided.“Avoid sharing personal details at public places like malls or shopping complexes on the pretext of holiday packages or gifts,” says Silas. Do not reveal your financial or personal details on application forms, phone or mails. Similarly, avoid responding to SMSes or mails received from unknown senders or ones that urge immediate action or attention (see How to identify junk mail). Remember that there is no legal recourse if you lose your money in this fashion. So stay alert and secure your hard-earned money.