How gangs are using spoof applications to dupe people

Gurugram: Members of several gangs posed as bank executives and duped at least 200 people across Haryana in the last two months on the pretext of increasing their credit card limits by using call spoofing applications, said police

Gurugram:

cyber crime hacker typing on laptop

Members of several gangs posed as bank executives and duped at least 200 people across Haryana in the last two months on the pretext of increasing their credit card limits by using call spoofing applications, said police.

Police said similar cases were registered at Gurugram, Faridabad, Palwal, Nuh, Rewari, Hisar, Jind, Rohtak and Sonipat. They are still investigating over 400 complaints. Cyber crime police stations in all districts have written to banks and application developers to ensure safe and secure transactions but the process is taking time, said police.

Commissioner of police KK Rao said that victims believed the perpetrators because they used spoofing apps to make it seem like they were calling via banks’ real customer care numbers. “People shared their credit card details and one-time passwords (OTP) with the perpetrators, who then transferred money from the victims’ bank accounts to their own, and withdrew it from different locations so that they could not be identified. The process of obtaining the perpetrators’ IP addresses and mobile locations is taking time, because of which the registration of several cases is getting delayed,” he said.

NK Singh, a senior manager with an automobile company and a resident of Sector 57 in Gurugram, said that he was duped of ₹1.75 lakh after a man posing as a bank executive offered to redeem points on his credit card and offered him an iPhone 13 Pro Max. “I was on my way to a meeting and was in a hurry when the ‘bank executive’ called me. He informed me that I had been offered the latest mobile phone and they want to send it to my house. I shared my address and he asked me to verify the credit card details. While on call, I received an OTP which he asked me to share with him and before the call got disconnected money was transferred from my savings account,” he said.

In another incident, a 40-year-old woman was duped of ₹1.50 lakh after she shared the details of her bank account and OTP with a man posing as a bank executive. “I received a call on December 15 from a man who introduced himself as a bank executive and offered me a free holiday package. It was a 15-minute call, I shared the OTP I received and ₹1.50 lakh was transferred from my account,” she said.

The Gurugram Police have arrested over 55 members of at least six different gangs from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Telangana, Delhi and Nuh in the last two months in connection with similar cases.

According to police, during questioning, most suspects revealed they used different modus operandi to dupe people using spoof applications and emails. In many cases, they use mobile apps to create spoof emails supposedly sent by telecom providers, banks or social media sites. Once a user clicks on a link provided in the email, they are then susceptible to fraud.

In several cases, perpetrators also used the names of well-known placement companies and matrimony sites to dupe unsuspecting victims.

“We received over 200 complaints whereing victims said they were duped on the pretext of jobs, loans and dating offers via emails. We tracked the emails and found that all the companies in question had no information about such mails being sent out. A thorough check revealed that the fraudulent mails were being sent with the help of spoofing apps,” said Narender Kadiyan, Faridabad deputy commissioner of police (crime).

Police said it is convenient for perpetrators anywhere to send an email to anyone from any ID.

Narender Bijarnia, the superintendent of police (SP), Jind, said that perpetrators target victims after scanning their details and grievances on social media accounts and take advantage of their concerns and call them using spoofing apps. “At times people post their bad experience son social media regarding banks, companies or loan issues. Perpetrators note the details and call the victims from a toll-free number posing as bank executives from the credit card division or senior managers of job portals,” he said.

He added that victims follow their instructions and lose money from their accounts.

Commissioner Rao said: “Perpetrators make spoof calls using X-lite and Eyebeam--these two apps are very popular these days. They display actual toll-free numbers of banks so that if anyone checks on the Internet, they assume it is a genuine call,” he said.

According to cyber experts, hackers use several methods to steal victims’ money. “Using spoofing applications is one method. There are also other applications such as Easy Loan- the moment you install the app, all your personal data is stolen from your device, including contacts and photos, which can then be misused to extort money. Also, by using screen-sharing apps such as Anydesk or Team Viewer, anyone can try to steal your OTPs, etc. from your device. They can also ask you to install apps such as SMS Forwarder, which automatically gives your OTP to hackers. Stay safe and call 155260 in case of any monetary loss or log on to www.cybercrime.gov.in,” said Rakshit Tandon, a cyber security advisor.

Police said they have been spreading awareness and have asked people not to share their OTPs with anyone as no bank or insurance company asks for it.

.