From OTP To OMG: Digital World Is A Scamistan Unlimited
With deepfakes, dupes and DMs so realistic, we have forgotten something crucial—how to suspicious of them.
Welcome to Scamistan Unlimited—a place where no one is spared by the dodgy scam calls, traps, fake investment and loan calls. The digital landscape is their abode, and we are navigating our ways to constantly avoid it.
You may think unlike that random person you know who got scammed, you’re smart. Umm..maybe, think again?
Back in the days, when the internet culture was in its gentle phase, we used to laugh at the “Nigerian Prince” emails. Now the prince is a guy from Ghaziabad pretending to be your bank manager, and the punchline is your entire salary gone in 0.7 seconds.
If you haven’t been scammed in the last six months, congrats. You are somehow not on their radar—yet. What felt like a rare crisis is now a full-blown situation where no one is spared. But where is the panic? The rage?
Instead, it’s become a new normal. Recently, hip-hop fans nationwide were scammed into thinking the Rap God, Eminem, would be gracing the stage in May. But guess what? We just got scammed!
From impersonating as an investor to calling up on WhatsApp pretending to be a cop to now a new favourite: Celebrity endorsement scam (Shreya Ghoshal comes to mind, right?) These scammers seem to have a newfound strategy in place empowered by AI and tech.
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Widely popular deepfakes and AI-generated videos have become so convincing today that your mum’s proudly forwarding a clip of MS Dhoni saying, “I personally use BitLambo. You should too.” Never mind that Dhoni’s lips aren’t even synced and the background music sounds like rejected elevator jazz. It’s Dhoni, and that’s enough.
It started slow. A fake Instagram ad here. A doctored quote there. Now it's a full-blown Ponzi-palooza starring the who’s-who of Indian fame (unwillingly, mind you). Ranveer Singh selling stock market courses.
Sachin Tendulkar pushing gold loans. Even Ratan Tata—yes, Ratan bloody Tata—has apparently entered the field of random cashback apps according to one particularly aggressive spam message.
No one's safe. Not your data. Not your dignity. Not even your childhood heroes. Like Oprah's iconic phrase, 'And you get a prize; And you get it! And you!', India's scam epidemic has everyone getting a piece of the problem and no one is glad about it.
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Hall of Fame Scams
Name something and I bet you’ll find a scammer scamming someone right now. LinkedIn Job scam? Yep. Digital Arrest scam? Yes. Sextortion scams? Hell yeah. And the easiest of them all? Family WhatsApp links, QR Codes and cash prize lottery and real estate/car prize winner deal via SMS.
It’s a digital age plague that seems to never go away. I mean, for every fraudster caught, five more pop up with new SIM cards, a fake LinkedIn profile, and a “limited-time offer.”
Even when we know ‘How Not to Get Scammed’, we have had a close call if not been a scammed for real. As always, remember don’t click that random link that you get on your DMs or WhatsApp. Yes, we are curious beings, but some are better left unexplored.
Also, ingrain in your thick skulls not to share your OTPs or believe any job or so-called HR promising you ₹40K a week to like YouTube videos. Don’t download random screen-sharing apps!
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Unfortunately, we are so online and “present” that trusting anything fake news or scammers is not giving a second thought. And that’s not all.
We are also so desperate for convenience that we’ve made ourselves easy targets. Add a lack of digital literacy, poor regulation, and a nation that runs on jugaad, and you’ve got Scamistan: the land of limitless fraud and unlimited internet.
How many scammers do we report and how many will permanently stop ruining people’s hard-earned livelihoods for easy money. Either way, it’s a side effect of living in a brave new world.