Post Date – 12:50 AM, Tuesday – 11/22/22
Going digital has many advantages but at the same time it makes us vulnerable to online fraud due to the increase in our online presence
Going digital has many advantages, but at the same time, it makes us vulnerable to online fraud due to the increase in our online presence. Over the past few years, online payments have made our lives easier, and most customers, shops and even small vendors prefer online payment methods over cash.
Scammers send fake text messages with short links to trick people. Most of the scams are known as phishing scams that result in loss of money, and in many cases malware is also installed on the victim’s smartphone after the victim clicks on a short link sent by the scammer.
Phishing, the psychological factor used by scammers
Phishing is a method of attempting to collect personal/sensitive information using spoofed phone calls, text messages, emails, blogs and websites and then steal data or money from the victim.
The analogy is that the angler throws a baited hook (phishing email) and hopes the victim will take the bait. Scammers use three methods to trick people – phone calls (called “phishing”), text messages (called “phishing”) and emails (called “phishing”).
Scammers use psychological factors such as trust, ignorance, fear, greed, moral responsibility, sense of urgency, panic and anger to deceive victims. In all of the above cases, fraudsters pose as official individuals, such as bank officials or customer service executives of service providers.
SMS/WhatsApp scams circulating in India
Amount credited scam: Please confirm that your account will be credited in Rs. 3000. Enter your information and view immediately (fake short link will be provided). Scammers claim they transferred funds by mistake and demand refunds.
Electricity Bill Scam: ‘Dear Customer, You will be cut off by the Electricity Office at 8.30 tonight due to your last month’s bill not being updated. Please contact the officer immediately (a fake number will be provided). thanks. ‘ The victim clicks on the short link and starts paying the bill, losing money.
Banker’s update scam: ‘Dear user, your Y0NO SBI Internet Banking account will be suspended today; please update your PAN card by clicking here (a fake short link will be provided). Victims start providing personally identifiable data and entering required OTPs, eventually losing money.
Credit Card Debt Scam: “Dear customer, please use the digital mode on our portal to pay your missed total due of Rs. Give a fake short link). Ignore already paid. Watch UPI payment video (fake video link will be provided) and VPA ID creation video (fake video link will be provided). Victim starts to provide personally identifiable data and enters requested OTP , thereby incurring losses.
Romance Scam: ‘Are you feeling alone in your life…a sweet call can fulfill your dreams, friendship-dates are waiting for you. Call Neha (a fake number will be provided). Victims divulge personal information and engage in explicit conversations. As a result, they fall victim to extortion scams.
Lottery Scam: ‘Your cell phone number. Won Rs 185 crore and an award from Hyundai Motor Company of America. To claim, please send your name, mobile number, address, work reply (a fake email will be provided). Victims start by providing their data and entering requested OTPs, scanning QR codes to pay GST and gift taxes, etc., and losing money.
Cash on Delivery Scam: You receive a message/call from a courier company claiming that you ordered “Cash on Delivery” on an e-commerce site. They request the OTP to accept or cancel the order.
some helpful tips
• Use unshorten.it to verify short URLs or links, even if they are sent by known sources.
• Double-check links before clicking and use isitphishing.org or www.urlvoid.com to make sure it’s not a phishing link.
• Never email sensitive, personal or proprietary information, no matter who asks for it.
• Check the full headers of an email using https://mxtoolbox.com/EmailHeaders.aspx or https://dnschecker.org/email-header-analyzer.php
• Check how apps access your data using https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/
• Verify actual SMS sender using https://smsheader.trai.gov.in/
• You will notice spelling and grammatical errors in emails or text messages.
• Take note of the link or form asking for personal information (passwords and banking details)
What to do when you get scammed
Report the scam to your local cybercrime police authority, register a complaint at https://www.cybercrime.gov.in or call toll-free 1930 immediately. 1930 is operated by the Citizens Financial Network Fraud Reporting and Management System of the Government of India.
