Nagpur: Nowadays, fraudsters have adopted novel means to cheat gullible people in the name of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), according to a report in the local English daily. Dubious messages are being circulated on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The messages read:
“Give your full address, post a selfie photo, and deposit Rs 1,550. We shall register your old coins and then send you the registration form.”
“Dear customer, we congratulate you, your total coin/note has been completely scanned by RBI scanning. Token No xxxxxxxx. Total Amount Rs 60,00,000. Total Amount in word sixteen lakh rupees only.”
According to the report, these are just two samples of several such messages in circulation. As is apparent from the tone, flawed grammar, and spelling, these messages are floated by fraudsters. However, due to the vastness of social media and the absence of a check on unverified and unauthentic posts, they are continuing to reach out to gullible people who have some old coins and currency notes as part of their household inheritance.
As mentioned in one of the above-mentioned messages, these fraudsters do not mind misusing the logo and name of the Reserve Bank of India. Some even misuse the National Emblem in an attempt to add authenticity to their posts. Some Nagpurians have also received such messages on their WhatsApp numbers. After suspecting that these messages might be circulated to dupe people, they brought it to the notice of an English daily in Nagpur. Requesting to remain unnamed, they shared the screenshots of the WhatsApp chats with fraudsters who approached them with ‘offers.’
One person has an old coin in their household collection. These coins have certain images on them, and some of the coins are from the British era. After sharing photographs of these coins, when he asked the ‘old coin buyer’ about the valuation of the coins, the latter quoted a lucrative amount of Rs. 98 lakhs. However, the ‘buyer’ asked this person to provide his full address, one selfie photograph, and also deposit Rs. 1,550 as registration charges.
In another case, another ‘buyer club’ offered a whopping Rs. 18,80,999 for an ‘antique coin.’ But again, this ‘coin club’ sought Rs. 1,150/- from the potential coin-seller to generate a ‘registration code created by the Government of India.’ “The registration code will be valid for five years. Once you pay the registration charges, 50% of the offer amount would be paid to you within one hour. Our team will reach out to you within 36 hours to collect the coin and pay the remainder of the offer amount,” read the message from the club. In one more case, the sender of the message explained ‘the procedure for the sale’ of an old coin. The sender of the message sought images of Aadhaar and PAN cards and demanded Rs. 550 as registration charges.
