In a new twist to the cyber fraud menace, a con man posed as the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud seeking Rs 500 for a cab fare. This led to a lot of uproar and the Supreme Court taking action.
The scam was discovered when, an X user, posted a screenshot of the message he received from the impersonator. The message said that the sender was CJI Chandrachud who was stranded in Connaught Place, Delhi and needed some money to hire a cab to attend a collegium meeting. He assured me that he will refund the money as soon as he gets to the court, which made the scam look more legitimate by ending the message with “Sent from iPad”.
The post received a lot of attention within a short time and within two lakh views and over 2,500 likes. A lot of users left comments section with their reaction; some of them were amazed and laughed at the cheekiness of the scammer, while others were sarcastically giving advices on what to do with the received letter.
After the revelation of this fraud, the Supreme Court immediately filed a complaint at the cyber cell. Police have assured the public that they are conducting their probe in a bid to arrest the con artist.
This incident brings to the limelight the modern vice of cyber fraud in which anybody including top personalities can be impersonated for the purpose of cheating the public. The case has highlighted the importance of being cautious with such scams, especially in the modern world, where such cons can cause a lot of damage.
It is one of the emerging trends of cyber crimes in India, where the number of cases is gradually on the rise. As per a report submitted in Lok Sabha, more than 2 lakh cases of cybercrime were reported in Uttar Pradesh during 2022-23, and the losses were to the tune of Rs 721.1 crore. Maharashtra and Gujarat were the next on the list, and this shows that these are not isolated incidents.
To counter this, measures are being taken, some of which are the setting up of cyber police stations in 16 districts of Uttar Pradesh. Such fraudulent activities are now being monitored and prevented through the use of today’s technology.
The imitation of Chief Justice of India Chandrachud for a cab fare fraud is an example of how far and how innovative cyber criminals are. It also helps as a wake-up call to everyone to be always on the lookout and be prepared when it comes to falling prey to such scams online.
