Awareness : Convenience because of Technology….Beware of Frauds

With penetration of technology, generation 21^st has become lazy. But everything has two face, one side is brighter optimistic and other has some cons. We can’t ignore con of any technology as a little bit of carelessness in this may lead to bankruptcy.  I am bit inquisitive and I am thankful to one of my friend from service, who shared his experience from field from time to time which given me insight for compiling up this article with some interesting cases for helping laymans like me. Infact, I am writing this article on advise of this gentlemen. If anyone has more to share, please share your experience in comment box (Shall update the case/post from time to time). Most busy moment in a life of a working person is 10am-6pm, when he/she is in office under pressure of delivering. At this time, though you know and are aware of phishing but still chances of getting trapped in high and  Please note that fraudulent caller will target you during these hours only. So  a humble request of not replying any phone call/message in hurry.

1. Mobile Software updating – Now-a-days, a new group is getting active in Mumbai region. A person will call you and will make you believe that he is calling from mobile company/some common software company and will peruse you anyhow for switching off your phone for a hour. You will switch off your phone by thinking whats going to be harmed in mere one hours. In meanwhile, your family will get an exhortation-threat call where they will be told that you are kidnapped and if they will not give them amount in next one hour, the kidnappers will kill you. Your family will try to reach you, but your phone is already switched off and so they will believe on caller. You will transfer/give money to unknown account/person. Generally in working hours, you don’t have time to call and tell your family that you are safe and the time when your family will call you, already money will be out of your grip. The person due to shame, will blame himself of all the foolishness and will not share his experience with others resulting in more people to fall in the honey trap.  The gang was going unnoticed until one day, a guy had switched on his phone and had seen several call from his family/friends. He thought that something must be wrong that more than 100 calls are showing and When he called back he was stunned by hearing that his family is assuring him that nothing will happen to him as they had arranged money and are in bank and in process of depositing entire amount in few minutes. The guy intimated them that he is all right and had stopped them from doing so and thanks to almighty information reached police about a new type of gang getting nurtured.

Suggestion: Mobile software updation doesn’t happen when a person call, you can do it manually when you need and no software from mobile need time of 1 hour for updation.

2. Online banking fraud :  There is nothing best for lazy person than making easy money. These person doesnot even fear the “law of karma” and dupe people from the land of lord shiva. The gang actively operates from Jamtara-Deogarh, Jharkhand. As per police it seems to be household business for this area. A lot of raids has been carried out but again they start working (seems mastermind never had came in hand of police). Our law says 'Let 100 criminals roam free but dont punish one innocent' and it become reality. 100 criminals are roaming free because of loopholes of law. of course, before doing any work, you will first see the ways of escaping from grip of competent authority. 

Everyone knows that they should never ever share user id and password but here the gang operate a step ahead. The gang will call in a very short span of time when ‘YOU’ had made Request for new debit/credit card and you are expecting the verification call. Generally when you block your old card, you tend to make request for new card in same call and here most of the time, the call is being transferred for request for new call, generally it take 5-10 minute time gap. The person will ask you old card number, validity and then somehow will block your net banking. Again the person will call you and will say that the BANK has blocked your net banking to stop any fraud transaction and here the real game starts when he will ask you to confirm your account number and old password, questions from security and date of birth. And mind it, if you are busy in other official work, you are surely gonna make mistake here, where in hurry you may not be able to search on google regarding TPIN/MPIN and will tell him so that this headache end and you get some time to do work which is source of your bread and butter. Now, game over, the person will start making IMPS. The person may call you to tell that Bank will provide new user id and is transferring your account to your new account. In evening when you will get time and you will talk to bank to clarify regarding the same about their new process, you get to know that the actual fraud had happened and via IMPS (max limit of 50k upto 1 lakh in a day from saving accounts) you have been duped twice a day. The half educated people at customer care will advice to block your net banking and now, if you are a person who use windows phone and don’t have idea about mobile application you are gone. As next day, if you still have saving there, the frauders will start making IMPS. You will call to bank and ask them to terminate the IMPS and question them how this is happening when net banking has been deactivated last night and you will start hearing technical answer that you have said net banking and not mobile banking and now you will feel to bang the head of yours as well as customer care executive. I don’t know but feel that at some level they are linked to bank.

Now, what, if you are an aware citizen of india, you will go to police, register FIR and then will submit application to concerned branch with a copy of FIR. The bank will cooperate with police once or twice and will go busy with their own life. The police will see that bank is not responding and they already have lot of thing to tackle, they will get busy. Who will suffer? No one,but the person whose savings has been duped.

Suggestion:

Keep a separate mobile(prefer basic set) and email id for banking purpose, keep changing the pin code on regular interval, and NEVER EVER use this email id and phone as much private as you can. Private means no sharing of the number on e-commerce platform. Now most of phone is dual sim so this will not be a tough job.

Don’t even share your account balance with anyone and never try to know account balance of your nearby person. This may create suspicion on you also.

Note: It should also be noted that now a days company use to outsource call and though most of calls are made via computer/online but you will see a mobile number flashing. I personally, have experienced that several call from mobile company customer care come on phone which I am using a post paid connection to convert my sim to post paid. When I asked that why don’t you check before calling to a person that his number is of which company, the executive apologies by saying that they its done online so they cant help. I suspect that the group basically use stolen pre-paid sim card. As now-a days, taking sim card is easy and to sell the sim cards. For verification of pre paid sim card no one is gonna visit the residence. Making a duplicate aadhar card/voter’s id card is not a big deal. I shall not go into more technical details of how duplicity works in India.

3. Credit Card/Debit Card Cloning-  We don’t carry hard cash and prefer to swap our card and do online shopping by filling details of credit/debit card. Most of time, mirror images of the sites are created by hackers. The gang most active here operates from Punjab area, but operates in entire India. You will be sitting in your home state and will get shock with message of debit from your account. You will go to bank and bank will say, your card has been used. It’s a forgery case and we cant do anything. You go to police and then you will see that some masked people have made transaction on your behalf. Most of the time, police will call you so many time for investigation that if you are a girl you will not complain and if you’re a male, you will withdraw complain. The gang actively operate in this operate from Punjab. 

Suggestion: Directly go to site, don’t go through Google, google is not trustworthy.  If you are swapping your card in some mall/shop do it infront of you and keep eye that the details what you are filling should not be captured in any camera/third eye.

4.  Sim Cloning- Major center- still to be found:  if you will google, you will find few hacker’s blogsite depicting method of sim cloning. Though as on date, I am writing this article, the gang is targeting big fries of metros but greedy people who have lust for easy money may take no time in targeting middle class.

In layman language on this type of fraudulent practice, you will go to some place and will think that you are not receiving mobile signals and will not worry about this. But after 12-18 hours when you return back to your place, you get message that a good chuck of your balance has been taken by some frauds. The tool used for forensic purpose is now easily available as free and there is no restriction from our government cyber wing to stop these type of download. Your network will vanish and entire call and message will be diverted to cloned number, again your account balance will be at loss and bank will say a simple line “Phishing is common, you should be careful”

Suggestion:  Don’t call back on missed calls, especially to numbers which are not of your country. The number used for banking should be private and should never ever be share with anyone. If your outgoing/incoming call are hanging often, your friends complain regarding your phone remains busy though you are not doing call, you should get bit careful

 5. Email/calls  from renowned companies/banks :   You will open your mail box and get a mail that you have won lottery ‘click here’/share your account details. You will also get call in name of various prestigious institutes.  Please not think you are the luckiest person and anyone is willing to give your easy money. No need of opening the mail/entertaining this phone call.Sometime the caller will even abuse you, just cut the phone and in case of mail mark it spam. Your hard earned money will be lashed if you will become greedy of this.

Generally it is quoted that "इंसान उम्र से नहीं ठोकर खाने से समझदार बनता है " but few people may learn from experience of other. If you have undergone any type of fraud, please share your experience without shame. Its obvious to make mistake, but its wise to share and learn from mistake.