RBI WARNS AGAINST FRAUDULENT MAILS

Unnamed text messages and emails inviting you to pay or invest a little money against promises of stunning returns should be ignored. These are attempts by fraudsters trying to take unsuspecting and gullible individuals for a ride. RBI has cautioned individuals to stay away from such offers . The central bank has said these offers are fictitious and are often in the form of lottery winnings or remittance of cheap funds in foreign currency from abroad by some foreign entities.

They are sent to individuals by way of email, SMS or even in the form of letters having letterheads that look like some public company. At times there are offers where individuals are offered huge sums of money from abroad and as a condition individuals are asked to deposit a small amount (in comparison to what they would receive ) as transaction fee or processing fee, or tax clearance charges in a certain bank account. According to a recent release issued by the central bank "Often gullible genuine accountholders are persuaded by the fraudsters to lend their accounts for such fraudulent activities on the promise of receiving some commission.

Once the initial amount is deposited , demands for more money follow with more official sounding reasons. After accumulating a sizeable amount in these accounts , fraudsters withdraw or transfer the money abroad and vanish, leaving the victims in a lurch. Many residents have already become victims and have lost huge sums of money by falling for such fictitious offers." RBI has reiterated that such offers are fraudulent and advised the public to register a complaint with the local police or cyber crime authorities on receiving such offers or if they become a victim of any such fraud.

Such fake schemes have multiplied over the years with Internet penetration. Besides, a liberalised currency regime allows an Indian resident to remit a substantial amount — as a high as $200000 a year — for investments abroad. However, regulations ban deployment of funds in lottery schemes, gambling and even future and derivative transactions that have no underlier.

SOURCE: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-02-17/news/28554980_1_local-police-or-cyber-police-or-cyber-crime-bank-account