'Beware of fake websites to protect yourself from online fraudsters'

Cybercriminals are taking advantage of the increased popularity of online shopping by creating fake websites and apps that look authentic but are just a ploy to steal one's personal information. Cybersecurity expert Ayush Bhardwaj explains ways how not to fall prey to such fake websites.

Jaipur:During the time of the coronavirus pandemic that has affected the entire world, online transactions have increased rapidly.

With the increase in online transactions, cyber thugs have also started cheating people in large numbers.

Cybersecurity expert Ayush Bhardwaj said that cyber thugs are making people a victim by using ‘social engineering’.

Cyber thugs who introduce themselves as representatives of the company send messages to people and assure 5 to 10% additional benefits as they pretend to renew the policy.

"People fall prey to the false promises and mindlessly agree to renew their policies or purchase new policies through these fraud agents without any further investigation," he said.

Cyber crime in Rajasthan

"The cyber thugs send a link through a message to the victim's mobile. As soon as they click on that link, the cyber thugs send malware from that mobile to their computer with the help of that link. Malware is a type of virus that cyber thugs operate and then the full access to the person's mobile or computer is passed on to cyber thugs. After this, the cyber thugs easily transact millions of rupees from the victim’s mobile through net banking or through other e-wallets and the victim do not even detect it until it is too late," Bhardwaj added.

Beware of Fake Websites

Bhardwaj said that people are being made a victim of fraud by creating fake websites.

There are several fake or similar websites of various well-known companies present on the internet, through them, cyber thugs try to trick people into renewing the policy.

When the victim goes to the renewal page to renew the policy after visiting the fake website of cyber thugs, then debit or credit card information is asked from him.

The moment the victim updates his card number, the expiry date and CVV on the fake website created by cyber thugs, they siphon off millions of rupees from the bank account, he said.

Means use by cyber thugs to cheat

Apart from India, there are many countries where online transactions can be done only through credit or debit card numbers, expiry date and CVV. Due to this, when all the information is filled by the victim in the fake website created by the thugs, then the transaction can be carried out easily by them.

In India card number, expiry date and CVV, as well as PIN code, are also required for online transactions.

Therefore, the thugs do not transact the amount cheated from the victim's account in India rather they sit in other countries to carry out these fraudulent practices.

Bhardwaj said, "The common person does not need to conduct foreign transactions on a daily basis. In such a situation, the user can use his mobile banking app to discontinue the option of international use of the card by making required changes in the debit or credit card settings. After doing this, the user's card can only be used for domestic transactions and the cyber thugs will not be able to make international transactions with the card despite making millions of attempts."

Ways to refrain cyber criminals

Bhardwaj explains, "The user can set the limit of the amount to be spent on his debit or credit card according to his need. The user can determine the amount of the transaction from his card according to his need. So to some extent, one can avoid cybercrime. On the other hand, even if you become a victim of some kind of fraud, the thugs will not be able to withdraw more than that amount from the account that has been set by him."

He further said that all banks provide card protection plans to debit or credit card users. The advantage of activating a card protection plan is that if a person is cheated by cyber thugs with a debit or credit card and if a complaint is lodged with the bank then within 72 hours of the fraud done, 60 to 70% of the amount is returned by the insurance company to the victim.

Avoid Clicking on Unnecessary Links-

Bhardwaj said, "To avoid becoming a victim of cyber thugs, one should avoid clicking on unnecessary links on mobile phones."

"To renew the policy through messages, click on the link sent to your bank account or debit and credit card. Do not fill confidential information related to it anywhere. Also, only use the Authorize Mobile Banking app or bank's website for online transactions and keep updating your mobile's software and app," he advised.

According to police officers, resources have also been increased in the last few years to prevent cybercrime.

A new cyber police station was set up in Jaipur, but as long as all the police stations in the city are equipped with the resources to stop cybercrime then the common people will continue to face problems.

To prevent cybercrime, it is necessary to identify policemen from all the police stations of Rajasthan who are interested in understanding the new technology and after that, they should be given special training to deal with cybercrime, so that the common man can visit the nearest police station where he could also report cybercrime and the police could put those criminals behind bars.

How Does Cyber Cell Work?

Keeping in view the increase in crimes, now the Rajasthan Police, which has been working according to the old system since the British era, is also getting hi-tech.

The Rajasthan government has set up separate cyber police stations to deal with cybercriminals.

These stations do not have thick files to deal with. Here there are high tech systems, separate forensic labs and IT experts work here.

These experts keep an eye on every action of vicious people on the Internet at all times.

Steps To Take If One Becomes Victim of Cyber Fraud

If you are a victim of cyber thugs, first inform the police. Especially in such cases, it would be appropriate to give information to cyber cells. Apart from this, you can also file a cyber crime complaint through the mail and toll-free number in Rajasthan.