Video calls are among the most preferred ways to connect with your loved ones. They not only offer enhanced communication, allowing users to talk to people by eliminating geographical barriers but also lead to richer and clearer communication. However, video calls are also being used by scammers to dupe people of their hard-earned money. In order to keep users safe, the
Indian Computer Emergency Response Team
(or CERT-In) has issued an advisory.
What are video call scams
Video calls scams
have been in existence for some time now. In these types of scams, people are targeted by scammers via a video call on an app, like WhatsApp, that supports this functionality. There are mainly four types of video calls:
Blackmail scams: In these types of scams, scammers may record your video call without your knowledge and threaten to release it unless you pay them money.
Investment scams: Here, scammers lure users into investing in fake or fraudulent schemes through video calls.
Tech support scams: Scammers may pose as tech support representatives and convince you to download malware or grant them remote access to your device.
Romance scams: Scammers may develop online relationships with victims through video calls and eventually ask for money or personal information.
How video call scams work
Impersonation: In these types of scams, scammers may impersonate someone you know, like a friend, family member, or even a representative from a legitimate company. They might use deepfakes to convince you into believing their relationship with you.
Urgency and Pressure: Scammers often create a sense of urgency or pressure to make you act quickly and without thinking. They might claim there's an emergency or a time-sensitive opportunity you need to take advantage of.
Emotional manipulation: Here, scammers try to play on users’ emotions, such as fear, sympathy, or excitement, to cloud their potential victims’ judgement and get them to comply with certain demands.
Best practices to avoid video call scams
The cyber security agency, which works within the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, has six points that users can abide by to safeguard themselves from scams.
- Do not engage with strangers on social media whose identity is not verified.
- Avoid answering video calls from unknown contacts, even if they claim to know you.
- Exercise caution when using any app that allows video calling with people you don't know.
- Use secure platforms for video calling.
- Avoid sharing personal information online for protection against cyber frauds.
- Keep the privacy settings of social media profiles at the most restricted levels.
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