Multi-State Phishing ScamE xam

 Multi-State Phishing Scam

• Recently, Haryana Police has identified a phishing racket which accessed over 300 nationalized and private bank accounts across many states.
• Frauds were done with Phishing and use of e-SIMs as the main conduit.
• Phishing: It is a cybercrime in which a target or targets are contacted by email, telephone, or text message.
• This is done by someone posing as a legitimate institution to lure individuals into providing sensitive data such as personally identifiable information, banking and credit card details, and passwords.
• e-SIM: It is the Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) embedded in the phone.
• It can not be removed as opposed to physical SIM cards, which can be removed.
• The e-SIMs enable users to change service providers through a simple process.
• Multiple networks and numbers can be stored on a single e-SIM too, so one can have more than one number.

Online Monetary Frauds in India:

• According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in 2019-20, banks reported 2,678 card and internet-related fraud, totalling Rs. 195 crore in value, which was more than double the value of such frauds reported by banks in 2018-19.
• In the current fiscal (2020-21), between April and June, banks reported 530 fraudulent transactions involving debit and credit cards, or techniques such as phishing done over the internet.

Steps taken:

• RBI is taking measures to improve awareness related to cybersafety among people through:
• e-BAAT (Electronic Banking Awareness And Training) programmes.
• Organising campaigns on safe use of digital payment modes, to avoid sharing critical personal information like PIN, OTP, passwords, etc.
• RBI has also directed all banks and authorised payment system operators to undertake targeted multi-lingual campaigns by way of SMS, advertisements in print and visual media to educate their users on safe and secure use of digital payments.
• The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-in) functions as the nodal agency for coordination of all cyber security efforts, emergency responses, and crisis management.

Source: Indian Express