Shimla (Himachal Pradesh): The network of cybercrime is continuously spreading in the country and the world and many people get caught in this trap every day. Cyber thugs are also looking for new ways to cheat people in this era of the internet. There are many such cases of cyber frauds.
These cases are a bell of caution for those who are not vigilant about their bank account or information related to it. One such case of cyber fraud was solved by the Shimla Cyber Police.
What was the matter?
The case is related to Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, where a person named Bhavan Kumar lodged a complaint at the police station on 22 August 2019 that he had become a victim of cyber fraud. Cyber thugs extorted 25 lakh rupees from two of his bank accounts.
On the complaint of the victim, the police registered a case and assigned the case to the cyber police. The cyber police started the investigation by registering a case under the 66C, 66D, IT Act, 419, 420, 120B IPC.
This is how the fraud was done
According to Bhavan Kumar, he had gone to withdraw 10,000 rupees from the ATM, but even after the whole process, the money did not come out of the ATM. While the message of withdrawing 10 thousand rupees from the ATM from the bank came on his mobile. After which he complained about this by taking the bank's toll-free number from the Internet.
The next day, Bhavan Kumar got a call from an unknown number and the thug called himself a bank officer and took the information of bank account, debit card and mobile number linked to the bank account. A few days later, the Bhavan came to know that about 25 lakh rupees had disappeared from his two bank accounts.
Thugs made sim swapping their weapon
Cybercrime can be easily done through SIM cloning or SIM swapping. Actually cyber thugs make duplicates of the sim of their victim. SIM swap means that SIM is exchanged easily. A new SIM is registered from the victim's phone number and his SIM is deactivated.
After which all the messages, OTP or other information related to the bank reaches the new SIM. After SIM swapping or SIM cloning, the victim's mobile number stops working, but initially he feels that there is a network problem which will be fixed but by the time he realizes it is too late.
Mobile SIM cloning can empty your bank account, being aware can save you from cyber thugs
Shimla: If you think that your life savings are safe by keeping them in bank accounts, then think twice because you have more responsibility to save your earnings than the bank. Your small carelessness can make you pauper in a moment. Cyber thugs are on the prowl to cheat you; they just wait for a little carelessness on your behalf because they cannot do anything without your aid.
Tactics of Cyber Thugs
Cyber thugs have adopted new tactics of cheating, one of which is to leave fake toll free numbers on the Internet. They leave these fake toll free numbers on the Internet in the name of different banks. When someone calls on these numbers, then the cyber thugs make their move and attack their victims’ bank accounts.
Cyber thugs ask for all the information related to debit cards or bank accounts. Many times OTP and CVV numbers are sought and sometimes cyber thugs ask for information about mobile numbers linked to your bank account. Your little carelessness makes these cyber thugs swapping your mobile number or cloning SIM. After which your number is deactivated and you do not get the messages associated with the bank account. By the time you come to know about it, cyber thugs will disappear with your hard-earned money straight from your account.
SIM swapping is the new weapon of cyber thugs
In the Internet era, every bank-related facility is available on your mobile. Nowadays it is common for bank accounts to be linked to mobile numbers, but this mobile number or SIM is a new weapon of cyber thugs. Your slight carelessness can make you pauper because of this SIM.
Cybercrime can be easily committed through SIM cloning or SIM swapping. Actually, cyber thugs make duplicates of your SIM. SIM swap means that SIM is exchanged. A new SIM is registered from your phone number and your own SIM is deactivated. After which all the messages, OTP or other information related to the bank account reaches the new SIM. After swapping the SIM or SIM cloning, the victim's mobile number stops working, but initially, he feels that there is a network problem which will be fixed but by the time he realizes it is too late.
Listen to the expert’s advice
Narveer Singh Rathore, ASP of Shimla Cyber Cell, says that cybercrime is an organized crime. Therefore, do not share information related to bank accounts like OTP, CVV number with anyone. Apart from this, instead of calling on the toll free number of banks by searching on the Internet, get information about this by calling the bank's website or the bank's landline number.
What to do if you are a victim of 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 the cyber cell. For this in Himachal, a cyber cell has been made in Shimla in the year 2016 where such cases are investigated. Apart from this, cybercrime complaints can also be made through mail and toll free numbers.
