Date:27/01/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/01/27/stories/2008012757800300.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Online cheats on the prowl Law and order

Several people are falling prey to tricksters operating through Internet, writes Marri Ramu

Offenders always look out for new ways and means to cheat people. As awareness among people about the Nigerian advance fee fraud increased, the tricksters are now resorting to a new style of job offer frauds through Internet.

Recently, an unemployed youth Srinivasulu Naidu of Ameerpet, who forwarded his resume online to different companies, received an e-mail from a person offering job in a London-based company. The whopping salary of nearly Rs. 2 lakh a month plus perks and free accommodation tempted the job-seeker. But the e-mail sender asked him to deposit some money in an ICICI bank account in the name of visa processing and immigration charges.

The unsuspecting youth deposited the said amount but received similar mails three more times asking him to deposit money for documentation work. Unwilling to lose the job opportunity, Naidu went on depositing money but grew suspicious as he received another mail demanding additional amount.

Precautions

To clarify doubts, he sent an e-mail to the said company only to realise that he was taken for ride.

With thousands of youths joining the IT sector and allied services sector for jobs, many are falling prey to such tricksters. The police feel small precautions will go a long way in checking such cheating.

Never part with your bank account or credit card details to any person offering job because in some cases, the fraudsters withdrew money from the jobseeker’s account soon after securing the details. If you receive mail offering a job, either phone the company directly or contact its website to clarify any doubts.

Companies or agencies generally don’t use free e-mail service but depend on their domain name. To check a genuine e-mail address or domain name by extracting the text after the “@” sign, add “www.” as a prefix and test the address in your browser. If genuine it should show the website of the company.

Nigerian nationals

Police believe most of the tricksters are Nigerian nationals and are high-school or university dropouts. “Hence, check the language used in the job offer e-mail,” the investigators say. Some offers put incongruous terms. One such e-mail job offer stated “accommodation and feeding is free with intercontinental and continental cuisine.” Peculiarity in formatting of the e-mails -- there are too many colours, borders and fonts in offer letters -- also help in recognising the fraud.