KOCHI: After fake loan apps, cyber fraudsters have now switched to phishing by circulating SMS in the name of a Wayanad-based cooperative bank promising instant loans. Experts say the links, sent to lakhs of people, are connected to a Chinese server.
More than 2 lakh people in Kerala and other states have received the SMS offering an instant loan of `28,000 by the Mananthavady Farmers’ Service Cooperative Bank (MFSCB). The message says the loan can be availed by clicking the link given in the SMS.
Nandakishore Harikumar, CEO of Technisanct, a Kochi-based cyber security startup, said it is a phishing attack linked to China. “By clicking the link, people compromise the privacy and security of their computer system and mobile phone. We came to know that this is linked to a Chinese server hosted in India. To make it look genuine, they have used the name of a cooperative bank based in Wayanad,” he said.
Mananthavady Farmers’ Service Cooperative Bank managing director M Manoj Kumar said the bank has not undertaken any such loan campaign. “It is a fake one. However, we will approach the police against the scam being carried out using the name of the bank,” he said.
Nandakishore said the phishing attack is a new pattern that emerged ever since Google started to directly remove bogus loan apps from its store. According to him, the links being circulated now are connected to the bogus loan apps that were available in the Google Play Store. “These groups are now sending the links of malicious apps directly to the people. Since it comes directly, there is a huge possibility of people installing the apps on their devices. We have to be careful and shouldn’t click on any link that comes to our inbox offering financial benefit,” he said.
An officer with Cyberdome — a part of the cybersecurity wing of Kerala Police — said fraudsters have been circulating fake links in the name of banks. “People should be cautious against such frauds. The number of cases against fake loan apps has seen an increase in the past few years. Loans should be availed from banks as per the guidelines of RBI,” the officer said.