KOCHI: In a recent phishing case, cyber tricksters diverted Rs 1.4 lakh from the bank account of an Aluva native. Ernakulam Rural cyber police have registered a case and are investigating the incident. The fraud was set in motion when the 60-year-old complainant sent a parcel via a courier company last month. After the courier was not delivered the next day, he decided to track the status of the parcel. For this, he decided to approach the customer care of the company and checked their contact number on Google.
“The Google search threw up a phone number and he made contact. The person who responded sought details of the parcel and sent a link to track the parcel via mobile phone,” a police officer said. The victim proceeded to click the link, which installed an app on his mobile phone. His ordeal started on July 24 when he started losing money from his bank account. “It was a phishing app that accessed all the content of the victim’s mobile. Fraudsters accessed the victim’s phone banking apps as well as OTPs.
Initially, around Rs 80,000 was debited from accounts across 16 transactions. After a few hours, Rs 60,000 more diverted over 12 transactions,” an officer said. Following the incident, the victim approached his bank for details on the amount debited.
It was then that he realised he had been cheated and decided to approach the police. Following a complaint, police registered a case of cheating. Officers found that the money had been sent to multiple bank accounts in various states.
Police are attempting to freeze these accounts and retrieve the lost money. Advocate Jiyas Jamal, the founder of the Cyber Suraksha Foundation, said there has been a rise in fake contact numbers appearing on Google.
Customer care numbers and other contact numbers should be accessed by visiting the official websites of concerned companies, he says. Nandakishore Harikumar, founder and CEO of Technisanct, a leading cyber security firm, said Google has been reacting to such developments by asking companies to identify and report fake numbers circulating in their names. He said fraudsters create fake websites that sound and read almost like the original to make it on Google searches.
“With phishing incidents following this trend, it’s high time for companies such as Google to introduce measures to prevent fraud. Recently, we traced 60 fake advertisements on a social media platform created for the purpose of phishing. Despite reporting it to the concerned social media platform, no action was taken,” he added.