Dear Indian folks, welcome to Scamlegit.com, we detected a new SCAM in India which is happening with coaching centers. We always hear about scams practiced by coaching centers in India, but now scammers found a new way to scam institutions, coaching centers, and academies.
A victim of this new scam shared his story with the Scamlegit team. He is a Dance Academy owner in Delhi India. Due to his privacy, we are not Sharing his name and Academy name.
Full Scam story in Victim’s Voice:
Here is the full story of this Fake Bank SMS scam in the Victims words
First I got a call for a query from a person who want to admit his Child to my Dance academy and ask for Timing and all. I shared with him everything like timing, monthly fee, and all, after that, they offered that they wanted to pay 3 months’ fee in advance and said that his Child would join in the evening. After this they said that their child was going you pay their 3-month fee online, during this time I was busy in classes, and then they sent me a fake bank SMS which seemed like my account was credited by 30,000 rupees.
Here is the Screen Shot:
I did not notice the SMS, from which number it came, and I thought my account was credited with 30,000 rupees.
So, In human faith, I called back to tell them that they sent me 30,0000 instead of 3000 so, I am sending it back to you. So, they said yes send it back please, but I was busy in classes, and then they started calling and pushing me to send back the remaining balance of 27k rupees. I thought it was not my money, so I must send them back.
But my instinct said it might be a kind of scam, where the scammers hack bank accounts. So, I did not use my main account to pay them back and use my second account which has a low balance of 5000, and after a long conversation, I decided to pay from my second bank account, and then they sent me a QR code.
Here is the QR SS of Scammer UPI:
I refused to pay online because I was thinking that it might be a scam. But I thought this money did not belong to me, so I should send them back. So, I transferred 5000 out of 27000 and told them to come to my studio I would pay them there in cash.
When did I realize this was a scam?
Well, when I checked my bank and SMS of that 30,000-credit bank SMS, I realized this SMS was fake and was sent by an unknown mobile number. It looks the same as the bank sends amount crediting messages.
I thought this SMS was true, but when I checked my account, I did not receive any money, so finally, I added that I got scammed by scammers.
Suggestions from Victims for you on this Fake bank SMS scam:
Whenever you face the same situation, then I suggest do not believe the SMS directly, must check your bank balance and statement to confirm the payment. Be aware Avoid scammers.
Now let’s see what actual scam played here:
Step first
First of all, the scammers, find Institutes, coaching, and academies which can be targeted easily. Then they call coaching centers to get admission for their child or someone in their academy and talk like a normal person and ask for general details like timing, fee, and all.
Step second
After this, they act like they are interested in getting admission, and want to pay a 3 or 4-month fee in advance and demand for Bank transfer so that they can get Bank details. Now here the scam starts with coaching centers.
Step Third
Scammers send you a different amount of payment which is commonly 10 times the fee. In this case, the victim said that he takes 1000 rupees per month and for 3 months it is 3000 rupees. But the scammers send you a 30,000-rupee account crediting message to the victim which is fake and sent by an unknown number. But innocent people like victims believe that they got payment.
Step five
Then scammers call the coaching centers and institute owners that they paid extra money by mistake and demand to send back their extra money. But in reality, there is no money transferred to the victims, they only send fake SMS which looks like it is coming from a bank.
Step six
After all, those who are innocent, and believe in the SMS and scammer, pay back and get scammed by the scammers.
Conclusion
This Fake bank SMS scam is happening with many institutes and coaching centers this time. So be aware and do not believe directly in anyone, and double-check before believing in bank SMS.
