Zerodha's Nithin Kamath warns of 'latest scam' from China; details here

Zerodha founder Nithin Kamath on Thursday warned investors of the ‘latest scam’ from China. As part of the scam, fraudsters are creating hundreds of websites and apps — similar to ones operated by Indian brokerage firms — to dupe people.

“After the Chinese loan apps scam, the latest scam from actors in China and other Asian countries is phishing websites. Fraudsters are creating hundreds of websites and trading apps that look similar to the websites of Indian brokers,” Kamath wrote on social media site X.

Once the users click on the download link, they are prompted to download the fake apps, he stated.

“Unwitting users who click on the app download links, etc., will be prompted to download the fake app. The goal is to get people to transfer money by taking advantage of their familiarity with these apps. This is just another one of the hundreds of international scams that have exploded in the last few years,” he added.

About 66% of people in India have fallen victim to online dating scams in the past year, with 81% among them experiencing financial loss, news agency IANS reported on Thursday citing a new report.

“The scale of pig butchering scams in India runs into tens of thousands of crores. It is scary how many people fall for fake job offer scams, scammy high-return investment schemes, and crypto investments, etc,” Kamath wrote on X in November last year.

The term ‘pig butchering’ is used to describe a type of financial scam where the scammers operate a network of fake accounts across multiple social media and dating platforms like Tinder, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Telegram among others.

“As the name implies, a pig butchering scam involves fattening the victim before butchering. Scammers gain the trust of users by using fake profiles. They use the pretence of love and friendship to gain the trust of users and then induce them to send money for jobs and high-return investments and steal the money. These scams are global, and their scope is staggering,” Kamath wrote on the social media site.

He also shared a few tips to protect yourself from these scammers. These include:

1. Never reply to unknown messages on WhatsApp, social media platforms, and dating apps.
2. If someone asks you to download some new apps or open links, that’s a red flag.
3. These scams rely on exploiting your emotions, like hopes, fears, dreams, and greed. Never react in a hurry.
4. Don’t panic. Most people fall for these scams because they react in a hurry.
5. When in doubt, go to the nearest police station or talk to a lawyer.
6. If someone promises something like a job or high returns or asks you for money, it’s a red flag.
7. Never share personally identifiable information like your Aadhaar, passport, or financial information like bank details, investment details, etc.
8. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.