Lucknow:

A famous city-based progressive writer and poet, Naresh Saxena, was kept under digital arrest in his room for six long hours by cyberheist operators posing as CBI officers in Lucknow, police officials said.

The scammers, who aimed to con the elderly writer by frightening him with arrest in a money-laundering case, listened to his poetry for hours, even asking him to recite couplets of Mirza Ghalib and Faiz and praising his poems a lot.

Luckily, after six hours of this ‘digital house arrest’ through a video call, alarmed family members intervened and the cyber thugs failed to pull off the crime.

The writer later filed a complaint at Gomti Nagar police station.

As per reports, on July 7, at 3 pm, the writer was about to leave for a poetic session when he got a video call on his mobile phone. The man on the other side asked the writer if he had lost his Aadhar card.

“He then informed me that someone had opened an account in Mumbai using it, a money laundering case of crores had taken place through it and a case had been registered in a Mumbai police station. Then he introduced himself as CBI Inspector Rohan Sharma and said that an arrest warrant had been issued against me. But as I was an elderly person and seemed to be a good man, he would try to get me released soon if I cooperated in the investigation. Otherwise, I might face a long jail term,” Mr Saxena said.

The man then also verified the writer’s Aadhar card and asked questions pertaining to the number of bank accounts he had, the amount of money in them, the number of transactions, investments, income and income tax returns.

“I was able to see the man’s police uniform and a cap, which convinced me,” Mr Saxena added.

“As soon as he saw my room full of books, to ensure that I was the right person and the same poet he had called, he asked me to prove myself by reciting poetry. He asked me to recite the couplets of Mirza Ghalib and Faiz Ahmed Faiz. He even asked me to recite my own poems, which I did. He listened to my poems for a long time and even praised me a lot,” the writer said, adding that all this went on for six hours.

The video call session started at 3 p.m. and went on till 7-8 p.m.

The conman then told him that the CBI Chief of Mumbai would talk to him.

To convince Mr Saxena further, he told the ‘chief’ (perhaps his cohort) that Mr Saxena was a very good man and the ‘chief’ should also listen to his poems. He should be investigated on priority and be let off within 24 hours.

“The ‘chief’ said that since I was cooperating in the investigation, he would get me released within 24 hours and told me that I was currently under house arrest,” said Mr Saxena.

The men then told him to close the door of his room and not inform his family members while remaining in front of them on the video call, said the writer. But when Mr Saxena did not open his door for a long time, the family was alarmed.

Sensing that he was being tricked through a cyber fraud, his daughter-in-law snatched the phone and disconnected the call.

The matter is now under investigation, said an official of the Gomti Nagar police station.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A US woman fatally poisoned her boyfriend thinking he inherited $30 million, however, she later found out that it was all a scam. According to People, the woman, identified as Ina Thea Kenoyer, was arrested in October last year and charged with class AA felony murder, which is the most severe murder charge in North Dakota. During the investigation, cops found a bottle of Windex filled with what investigators believed was antifreeze in the couple’s living room. On Wednesday, she pleaded guilty to murdering her longtime boyfriend. She now faces up to life in prison without parole, the outlet reported. 

The cops had previously determined that Ms Kenoyer had financial motives to murder her 51-year-old boyfriend Steven Edward Riley Jr. However, investigators now say they believe the inheritance was a hoax. 

According to People, in the arrest affidavit, authorities said that Mr Riley planned to leave his girlfriend of about a decade. But in September, as he headed toward the airport with friends to meet with a lawyer about what he believed to be his newly acquired wealth, he complained of stomach pain. His friends said he seemed drunk, although later blood tests revealed no alcohol in his system.

Back then, Ms Kenoyer, who claimed she had medical training, said he had a heat stroke and would recover with rest at home. At his house, investigators found a beer bottle and a plastic mug with green liquid matching the Windex bottle. 

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After speaking to Mr Riley’s friends, authorities learnt that Ms Kenoyer had previously discussed poisoning her boyfriend with antifreeze. The coroner then tested for its key ingredient and found toxic levels of ethylene glycol in his system. But Ms Kenoyer maintained that her boyfriend had been day drinking and had gotten heat stroke. She also suggested several explanations for the poison-like symptoms. 

Ms Kenoyer proclaimed herself Ms Riley’s common-law wife and said she planned to split his newfound inheritance with his son. However, in arresting documents obtained by the outlet, she became visibly upset after investigators told her the state would not recognise her as his common-law wife. She later admitted that she had in fact spiked his sweet tea with antifreeze before his meeting with the lawyer. 

Ms Kenoyer is now scheduled to be sentenced on August 14. She may undergo another psychological evaluation ahead of her sentencing.

WhatsApp fraud, or WhatsApp scams, involve deceptive schemes aimed at manipulating users of the messaging platform into divulging personal details, transferring funds, or installing malicious software. These scams encompass a range of tactics, leveraging trust, fear, or greed. Among the existing types of WhatsApp scams, like impersonation, phishing, investment, and gift or prize scams, a new variant has recently emerged.

Now users have to be cautious of unexpected calls from group members on WhatsApp. A new audio call scam is targeting users, potentially draining their savings accounts, according to The Metro.

Action Fraud, the UK’s leading cybercrime reporting centre, has received hundreds of complaints from victims. The scam involves a fraudster impersonating a member of a WhatsApp group chat. They’ll often use a fake profile picture and display name to appear legitimate.

The scammer then initiates a call and informs the victim that they’ll be receiving a one-time passcode (OTP) to join a group video call. However, the real purpose is to gain access to the victim’s account. They’ll trick the victim into sharing the OTP under the guise of “registering” for the call.

In reality, the OTP is used to register the victim’s WhatsApp account on a new device, effectively taking control of it. Scammers can then use the compromised account to target the victim’s friends and family, potentially requesting money or spreading further scams.

In reality, the code provided is actually an access code that grants the scammer control over the victim’s WhatsApp account by registering it on a different device. Subsequently, the scammer activates two-step verification, effectively locking the victim out of their own account. With this control, the scammer can then exploit the victim’s contacts by sending messages, often soliciting money under false pretences of dire circumstances.

Detective Superintendent Gary Miles, head of the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau at the City of London Police, told The Metro: “WhatsApp remains an integral mode of communication for many people across the UK; however, fraudsters still find ways to infiltrate these platforms. Sadly, anyone can become a target for fraud.”

Scamsters have defrauded thousands of people of an estimated Rs 200 crore across Himachal Pradesh by promising high returns in a short period through investment in crypto assets.

The gang, whose kingpin is yet to be arrested, used a Ponzi scheme method to lure people and also manipulated the prices of the cryptocurrencies they used to swindle money from investors.

According to the police, scamsters launched new crypto assets and also jacked up the prices of these digital currencies, which is called a rug pull in the crypto world.

So what is this rug pull?

A rug pull is a type of cryptocurrency scam in which developers of a new cryptocurrency project abandon the project and take investors’ money with them. This can happen in a number of ways, such as by disappearing with the project’s liquidity, disabling the project’s website and social media accounts, or making it impossible for investors to sell their tokens.

Fraudsters also dump their own tokens on the market, causing the price to plummet in the rug pull.

Rug pull is basically derived from the English phrase to pull the rug out from under someone, means to remove support to somebody suddenly.

Rug pull is a major problem in the cryptocurrency industry, with billions of dollars lost to such scams each year. In fact, a recent report by Chainalysis found that rug pulls accounted for over 36 percent of all cryptocurrency scams in 2021.

How to avoid rug pull

There are a number of ways to avoid becoming a victim of a rug pull. The crypto investors need to be watchful about a few factors:

1. Do your research: Before investing in any cryptocurrency project, be sure to do your research and understand what the project is trying to achieve. Look at the team behind the project and see if they have a good track record.

2. Be cautious about high returns: Be wary of projects with high returns and low risk. If a project promises high returns with low risk, it’s probably a scam. Cryptocurrency is a volatile asset class, and there is no such thing as a guaranteed investment.

3. Social Media hype may not always be true: Beware of projects that are heavily hyped. Scammers often use social media and other platforms to hype up their projects. Be wary of any project that is being heavily promoted without any substance behind it.

4. Risk tolerance: Invest only what you can afford to lose. Cryptocurrency is a high-risk investment, so only invest what you can afford to lose.