70% of fake Paytm calls in Noida traced to Jharkhand

Noida: About 70% of Paytm frauds in Noida can be traced to Jharkhand. The cyber cell of Noida police had asked the e-wallet company to share a database of the numbers that had been reported as suspicious by customers. Paytm shared a list of 3,500.
“For the past three months, we had been asking for the numbers so we could go after the gang instead of individuals,” said additional DCP Ashok Kumar Singh.And that brought to light the workings of an inter-state gang operating from Jharkhand. The rest were from Mewat.
“The network has a three-level structure. There are those who send texts, those who call, those who hold the bank accounts and those who withdraw the money,” said Baljeet Singh, in charge of the centre for cybercrime investigation.
Most of these cons begin with texts. “Most of these texts come from bulk SMS services. There have been instances of the accused being in India and paying Chinese service providers. The Chinese VO/IP service providers offer them bulk SMS services for a package,” Singh added.
After these texts are sent out, those who make the phone calls get to work. “Earlier, they would call their targets on their own. But with the SMS trick, they ask the target to call them instead. These people, who receive calls, were found to be from Jharkhand. They simply facilitate the transfer of money,” Singh said.
Next up are those who operate the ‘destination’ bank accounts and withdraw the money. “As soon as money comes in, they withdraw it from an ATM. Every level has a fixed share,” Singh said.
How is it so easy though? “Bulk SMS service providers buy phone numbers and change a few letters of a company’s name or sometimes even get the exact name. After that, sending out texts is easy. What needs to be done is spread awareness,” said cyber expert Gautam Kumawat. On the part of users, he urged caution. “Never call up numbers that claim to be from Paytm, offering cashback or saying that the KYC has turned invalid. Hang up if you receive any such call,” he said.
Cybercrime officers said a cool-off period could help contain some of the damage. “We have suggested that Paytm introduce a cool-off period of at least three hours between transactions when an irregularity is reported. Whenever a fraudulent transaction is reported, they can approach customer care and the account should be blocked,” Singh said.
Paytm issued a statement: “Paytm Payments Bank (PPB) is leading the fight against the online fraudsters damaging the digital payments ecosystem in the country. In a series of meetings with officials from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and CERT-in; PPB charted out and explained the various phishing and fraudulent mobile phone SMS and call scams affecting digital payments users.... We have identified the phone numbers of these fraudsters to build a digitally safe India with the support of law enforcement, regulators and all telecom operators in the country.”