The fear of ATM cards getting blocked or SIM cards getting deactivated, along with the notion that it is safe to click on links and make transactions of small amounts, has made thousands of Kolkatans fall into online fraud traps, police said.
Officers said a large number of cases they receive is either when the victims make a mistake in desperation to save their ATM or SIM cards or when they have been asked to make an online transaction of Re 1 or Rs 10.
They make such transactions under the impression that even if they are duped, they would lose a small amount.
Senior police officers The Telegraph spoke to said telecom companies do not send text messages with links or ask customers to dial a random number.
“If you receive a text message like that and feel your SIM may actually be blocked, please dial the call centre number of your telecom operator. Do not dial any number sent to you. You can also visit a store of your telecom operator to clarify your doubts,” said an officer.
When one clicks on a link sent by a fraudster, a legitimate mobile application is downloaded on the victim’s phone. These are usually screen-sharing apps used in online meetings.
“Once the app is downloaded on the victim’s phone, a passcode is generated. The fraudsters ask for this passcode. We have found in several cases that people share this passcode without any hesitation thinking it is not an OTP (one-time password). But the moment fraudsters get this passcode, they get access to the victim’s phone through the screen-sharing app,” said the officer.
A city doctor in Garfa received such a text message with a phone number last year. She called the number fearing she had only a few hours before her SIM card was blocked.
She was asked to make a payment of Rs 10 as a “top-up recharge” to keep her SIM active. The amount was too low to raise any suspicion. In a few minutes, she was left poorer by Rs 2.84 lakh.
An officer said one of the easiest traps that people fall into is when they are asked to transfer only Re 1 or Rs 10.
“People think even if it is a trap, the maximum they will lose is Rs 10. But what they do not realise is that the fraudsters first get access to the phone. Then, by asking the victim to carry out an online transaction of any amount, they can see the Net banking password, too. Then it becomes a cakewalk to carry out larger transactions using the same banking details,” he said.
Some fall prey thinking they are safe as long as they do not share an OTP, without realising that the passcode they are sharing is as vital as an OTP.
A woman in Jadavpur who was confident that she never shared the OTP had lost nearly Rs 1 lakh after she unknowingly shared the passcode after clicking on a link.
At least 2,500 people have been cheated of Rs 8.16 crore in Kolkata in 2021. That means, on an average, eight people fell prey to such traps every day in the last one year.
Cheat Alert
• You click on a link sent to you through a text message. An app is downloaded
• A passcode is generated
• You share the passcode with the fraudster thinking your phone/account is safe as long as you do not share an OTP. (Remember, the passcode is as vital as OTP)
• Once the passcode is shared, the fraudster can see your phone screen through the screen-sharing app
Why it is dangerous to even make a transaction of Re 1
• Once fraudsters have access to your phone, they can see every digit you type
• Even while making a small transaction, you will have to type the CVV for mobile banking or key in your Net banking password
• Both are enough for fraudsters to carry out larger transactions later
• OTPs may be generated but as they have access to your phone, they won’t depend on you to know an OTP
