Crackdown on financial fraud, the central government has banned 100 overseas websites engaged in organized “work-from-home” scams that dupe people into illegal money transfers and cryptocurrency deals.
In an advisory, the Home Ministry said such portals use digital ads, chat messengers and mule bank accounts to trap unsuspecting victims with promises of easy commissions against simple online tasks.
But after initial small payouts, people end up investing more money only to find their deposits frozen later by faceless criminals looking to siphon off funds abroad via card networks, wallets, or shady Fintech firms.
Cautioning citizens not to fall for dreams of “Ghar Baithe Kamai”, the ministry said compliant numbers against such frauds are rising alarmingly on its 1930 hotline and cybercrime portal.
It asked people to directly report such numbers and handles to help investigations, even as enforcement agencies step up monitoring of illegal cross-border transactions.
Such crimes often have links to bigger rackets involved in money laundering and terror financing, the advisory warned.
Over 100 websites based out of China, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc. now stand blocked by Indian authorities but more such portals keep mushrooming to cheat vulnerable economic victims.
