BENGALURU: Bengalureans lost a whopping Rs 845 crore to cybercriminals in the first six months of this year. Of all the cases, the debit and credit card fraud was the most rampant, accounting for 1,485 of the total 9,260 cases. The victims were swindled of Rs 41.53 crore in this scam.
Investigators highlighted a consistent pattern in the debit and credit scam – all calls were made using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services, which mask the caller’s true location with ‘international numbers’ and make tracing impossible. Over half of the complainants had used public wi-fi for transactions before falling victim.
“When we verified the calls made to the victims, they all had different country codes, like +44, +7, and +07, but none from +91 (India), which can be traced,” an official said. Most victims also reported accessing wi-fi at hotels, lounges and other places before making the transactions, he added.
In the first two months of this year, the total loss to cybercrimes amounted to Rs 240 crore. But over the next four months, they have skyrocketed to Rs 845 crore.
The official said public wi-fi networks are often unencrypted, making it easy for cybercriminals to intercept data transmitted between your device and the network. “Avoid accessing sensitive information or performing financial transactions over public wi-fi. Switch to VPNs for encrypted connections,” he suggested to the people.
Asked why suspected hefty transactions are not blocked, a bank official said if such a measure is implemented, it could lead to widespread complaints. “Customers would argue that the bank is obstructing their transactions by imposing lengthy procedures,” the bank official said, terming the measure impractical.
A senior police official said that current measures, specifically “awareness campaigns,” are just an eyewash. As educated individuals are losing money, mere awareness will not work. Only an all-out war against cybercrimes can be the solution. The current approach fails to address the gravity of the situation, and without aggressive action, these financial losses will continue to spiral out of control, he warned.
What is a credit or debit card scam?
It happens when someone steals credit or debit card information and uses it without the knowledge of its holder. It can be done not only through fake calls, but also through fake emails, malware, or by physically copying card details.