At a time when people are contributing to government relief funds for the fight against Sars-Cov-2, cyber fraudsters are busy duping using fake IDs. The cybercrime wing of Uttar Pradesh police has cautioned people to not transfer money on random addresses.
Several identical IDs have been doing the rounds on social media and sometimes people are getting messages to donate or fund one-time food. The moment they clicked on the link, they lost all the money to the fraudsters, said the cyber cops.
One popular UPI address is ‘pmcares@sbi’ and cybercriminals have made several identical IDs with little spelling changes to cheat the people. SP Cybercrime Rohan P Kanay said people were falling into the trap sans accurate information.
“Cyber police are coming across such cases across the country, including Uttar Pradesh. We are sensitising people to not fell prey to such tactics,” he said. The government has blocked some such IDs but there are several other portals.
The cybercrime wing of the UP police has issued a communique, explaining about the modus operandi of cyber fraudsters. “Most of the cases are about identical fake IDs. People do not check IDs properly and donate amount on wrong IDs created by fraudsters,” Kanay added. Such cases were reported mainly in urban areas, said cops.
Sometimes people get a message about funding one-time meal of a poor person. “The message has a link and when someone clicks that link, his or her phone goes on remote control mode. A remote access software is automatically installed on your phone. It is like someone else can see your screen and activities. And when you pay a small amount with the intention to fund one time meal, they may copy your UPI password and steal all your money,” said Kanay.
{{/usCountry}}Sometimes people get a message about funding one-time meal of a poor person. “The message has a link and when someone clicks that link, his or her phone goes on remote control mode. A remote access software is automatically installed on your phone. It is like someone else can see your screen and activities. And when you pay a small amount with the intention to fund one time meal, they may copy your UPI password and steal all your money,” said Kanay.
{{/usCountry}}“People are advised to use only the government websites to donate money instead of opting for other options,” he said.