Sim Swapping: A New Scam Is On The Rise. Man scammed out of Rs. 50 Lakhs; Hyderabad police warn Citizens.
Cybercriminals are increasingly using SIM swapping as an efficient and sophisticated method to bypass two-step verifications without even having to request an OTP from the true owner.
On Thursday, the Hyderabad city police warned residents to be on the lookout for SIM (Subscriber Identity Modules) swapping and sophisticated cyber fraud tactics that could incite a commotion.
This warning comes after the news of a man in Delhi being conned out of more than 50 lakhs simply by receiving missed calls, a warning was issued.
The news of several accounts of people who lost money—sometimes even crores of rupees—as a result of illegal SIM shifting has surfaced in recent months.
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The height of the SIM Swapping Scam Method
Online scammers have come up with the latest method called SIM swapping as a sophisticated and effective way not needing two-step verifications and without even needing to ask the real owner for an OTP.
The Cyber Police Alerts
The city police urged citizens to contact their service provider right away if they think their SIM card has been switched via their Twitter account.
Be cautious! Advanced techniques are used to defraud victims without even asking for their OTP codes. To keep yourself safe from sim swapping, never share your personal information, including your OTP, with anyone.#CyberFrauds #SIMswapping pic.twitter.com/RHEVhBrV8A
— Hyderabad City Police (@hydcitypolice) December 16, 2022
How And What Is SIM Swapping
- The hacker will frequently obtain a copy of your SIM card during SIM switching.
- However, they need access to your personal information in order to do this, which they might obtain by using common phishing techniques.
- Your ID, phone number, full name, email address, birth date, etc. are among the details provided.
- In order to impersonate you over the phone, online, or even in person, they simply need to contact your mobile service provider.
Once they have a clone of your SIM, they can access OTPs, verify the subscriber’s bank account, and perform other tasks for them.
It is observed that in earlier scams, the fraudsters have applied this specific technique successfully to steal money from accounts.
According to the Check Point Threat Intelligence Report, businesses in India have experienced an average of 1783 assaults per week, compared to 1645 attacks per organization in the APAC region.
What does APAC region mean?
Countries in Asia-Pacific
- Afghanistan
- Australia
- Bangladesh
- Bhutan
- Burma
- Brunei
- Cambodia
- China (including special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau)
- Cook Islands
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Fiji
- India
- Indonesia
- Japan
- Kiribati
- Laos
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Marshall Islands
- Mongolia
- Nepal
- New Caledonia
- New Zealand
- Niue
- North Korea
- Pakistan
- Palau
- Papua New Guinea
- Philippines
- Singapore
- Solomon Islands
- South Korea
- Sri Lanka
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Timor-Leste
- Tonga
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
- Vietnam
Here, the objective of the offender is to gather personal data that online criminals can use later.
That is why it is of key importance that you do not share any kind of information about your Aadhaar and other private details with anybody unless it is urgent and unavoidable.
Data Of SIM Swapping And Other Cyber Crimes In India
The overall number of ransomware attacks and phishing incidents in India increased from 280 in 2020 to 523 in 2021, according to India’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In).
How To Know whether your SIM has been switched or swapped?
- You will experience a complete loss of mobile signal, which is indicative of a second SIM card.
- This is because your phone will no longer have access to a mobile network despite having a SIM card.
- As a result, you won’t be able to make or receive phone calls or SMSes.
- If this happens, you need to contact the police and your cell provider right away so they can stop the hackers’ SIM from working and start getting your data back.
If you do observe this behavior, again and again, contact your bank immediately to stop any transactions immediately and alert them to the possibility of SIM fraud.
How To Avoid The SIM Swapping Scam?
Few details are necessary for hackers to duplicate your SIM.
This is why picking carefully which websites to visit is so important.
Check that the website is legitimate and that all necessary security precautions, like an encrypted connection, are in place. See if the website has https:// prefix In a website like ours https://hydnewstoday.com for security
What is HTTPS and why it is used?
To ensure that a security certificate is present and that the URL begins with HTTPS://, look for the padlock icon in the address bar.
The website might be risky if the final -S:/ is missing from the URL. ( for ex: HTTP)
Never enter personal information into any form on a website that asks for it, especially if the website’s link can be found in a WhatsApp message.
Here is the article How To Protect Yourself From SIM Swap Fraud
