In the past few years, online banking and digital payments have witnessed considerable growth. As digital India today continues to boom, many prefer online means to make transactions and avoid visiting financial institutions based on their available time. For instance, if you want to make transaction through your PNB bank or Union Bank of India savings bank account, then you do not require visiting as per the PNB bank timings or Union Bank of India timings, respectively to get your work done or conduct a transaction. Instead, you simply can go online on the respective financial institution’s website and conduct your transaction with ease.
However, the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) has mentioned that cybercrimes are increasingly getting sophisticated and have been rising in numbers. It is crucial to remember that the money stolen through online fraud has even enhanced. So, before you use the online mode, ensure to be alert and know how you can prevent yourself from any cybercrimes. Arguably, the basic reason for online fraud to rise is the inadequate awareness among many. Although it is impossible to curb the increase of fraudsters, staying vigilant and aware at times is crucial to remain safe and curbing financial losses.
Current stories on online banking fraud –
As per the report published by MoHA (Ministry of Home Affairs), 67.9 per cent of the overall reported cybercrimes happened on online platforms. According to the IANS report, in Lucknow one of the families fell prey to a SIM card scam and was scammed of Rs 16 lakh. Another scenario was that of a Pune woman who lost nearly Rs 3 lakh to an online scammer who claimed to be a foreign-based doctor. On receiving the money from the woman, the scammer cut all ties. Warje scam was of Rs 2 lakh where an aged woman of 69 years old was scammed by an impersonator who convinced the lady of being a customer care executive. The scammer defrauded the lady on the grounds that there was an issue with her SIM card which her SIM card may get blocked if she does not pay a processing charge equaling Rs 10.
To initiate the online transaction, the scammer had sent a dubious app link through a text message, which she was supposed to download. The fraudster later directed the woman for installing the app and asked her to conduct the processing charge payment using her debit card. The debit card details were soon compromised and post-completion of the payment via the dubious online application. Later the scammer used the debit card details to initiate a fraudulent transaction equaling Rs 2 lakh.
What are the different kinds of fraud?
Remote access scam or screen sharing application –
Here in this kind of scam, the scammer tricks you to download the screen share app to get access to your laptop device or mobile device. After getting control, it becomes very simple for the fraudster to get the financial credentials or track the movement of the user on their laptop and tend to extract all details.
Remote access scam or screen sharing app scam –
In this kind of scam, fraudsters tend to trick the users to download the screen-sharing app to get access to the laptop or mobile device. After getting the control, it becomes simple for the scammer to retrieve the financial info or track every transaction of the user. This kind of scam might cause high damage as it might even result in the breach of the user’s sensitive info. The ideal way to stop such fraud is to avoid making any app downloads sent by any unknown individual. If the case there are any pressing requirements, it is best to approach the bank or solve the problem in person.
SIM cloning or SIM swap –
SMS is a crucial component of digital banking as you as a customer get OTPs and constant updates regarding your bank. SIM cloning scam or SIM swap is becoming a very popular scam wherein fraudsters get a duplicate SIM from the service centre. When the newly purchased SIM is activated, this deactivates the original customer’s SIM, thus providing the scammer with total access to receive OTP or directly connect with the bank for further scams. So, if your SIM stops working, it is a must for you to connect with your service provider instantly and notify them about the scenario.
Phone number scam –
Search engines have replaced listicles and phone books. However, as this source of detail and info extraction has become popular, now scammer utilises it to their benefit. As there’s zero supervision over content available on the internet, fraudster often changes contact information to redirect phone calls to their fraud centres. The scammer gains the trust of the customer and then tricks them into sharing highly sensitive details.
Instead of depending on your search engine results, for approaching your bank’s net banking portal, ensure to visit the authentic site as mentioned on your bank documents. For instance, if you have an account with the Union Bank of India, then ensure to visit its authentic website to fill out your details and access your bank account. This prevents you from wasting your time visiting the bank as per Union Bank of India timings and even keeps you away from scams.
ATM card skimming scam –
One of the most sophisticated kinds of online scams is ATM card skimming. Here, the scammer installs skimming applications like dummy keypads, and pinhole cameras in the ATM machine for extracting the customer’s debit card details. With the debit card detail in hand, the scammer tends to recreate an ATM card for accessing the account’s account and to withdraw the funds. So, before you visit any ATM, ensure to inspect for such threats, and check the machine before inputting your card details. If you find anything on the ATM card machine, then that may be an attempt at skimming. So, beware.