look news india
In this era of WhatsApp and digital messaging, cyber criminals have invented such psychological and technical methods of cheating that even a small mistake can cost a lifetime’s earnings. In recent days, a warning is becoming increasingly viral on social media and messaging groups in which it is being claimed that just by replying ‘NO’ to a message received from an unknown number on WhatsApp, the victim’s bank account gets emptied. Officials and technical security experts of Cyber Crime Cell located in Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar and Hazratganj, while doing a technical analysis of this entire episode, have advised the general public to be cautious of this new type of fraud pattern. The question arises whether just a two-letter text message can really reduce the bank balance to zero or there is a deep and well-planned cyber maze hidden behind it, which is very important for every smartphone user to understand.
As per the established rules of technical and banking security, to withdraw money online from any bank account, it is mandatory to have net banking credentials, debit card details, UPI PIN or one-time password (OTP) received on the registered mobile number. WhatsApp works on end-to-end encryption and a hacker cannot directly gain access to your bank account by simply sending a simple text message like ‘NO’ or ‘STOP’. According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and cyber security agencies, unauthorized withdrawal from a bank account requires the user to share any financial data, install a suspicious APK file or grant permission to a remote access app. In such a situation, the claim that money is lost from the account just by writing ‘NO’ without any password or link is technically misleading, but the danger hidden behind it is more dangerous than this.
Even if money is not deducted directly by sending messages, replying by writing ‘NO’ to an unknown number puts the user on top of the radar of cyber criminals. Cyber fraudsters send misleading messages like ‘work from home’, ‘lottery’, ‘electricity bill pending’ or ‘part-time job’ to millions of random numbers through automated bots and international virtual numbers (+84, +62, +234 etc.). When instead of ignoring that message, you send it by writing ‘NO’, ‘STOP’ or ‘I am not interested’ in irritation or denial, your number is immediately marked as ‘Active, Responsive and Live’ in the fraudster’s software. This simply means that fraudsters get confirmation that the number is being used by a real person who reads and responds to the messages. That number is then sold on the dark web as a ‘high-value target’ to cyber syndicates at high prices, leading to a flood of targeted phishing calls and fraud.
Once cyber criminals are sure that the number is active, they resort to complex ‘social engineering’ rather than simply sending simple messages. Under this, the victim is shown the fear of ‘digital arrest’ over video call if he finds illegal goods in a parcel, gets named in a money laundering case or impersonates a fake officer of the Mumbai/Delhi Crime Branch. On the other hand, a suspicious file is sent on WhatsApp itself in the name of ‘Courier Tracking Update’ or ‘Bank e-KYC Update’, which looks like a normal PDF or text but is actually a Malaysian APK. As soon as the user clicks on that file, malware gets installed in his phone which starts forwarding the bank’s OTP and keystrokes in the background directly to the hackers’ servers, within a few minutes of which the bank balance is wiped out.
If you suddenly receive a hi-hello message, job offer, invitation to join Telegram channel or temptation for task based income on your WhatsApp from country code like +92 (Pakistan), +84 (Vietnam), +62 (Indonesia), +254 (Kenya) or +1 (US/Canada virtual numbers), then do not communicate on it. Often out of curiosity or to express anger, people start asking questions or send ‘do not disturb’ messages. In cyber psychology this is called ‘engagement trap’. Thugs use any of your reactions as the basis for their next strategy. There are clear instructions from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center (I4C) of the Home Ministry to neither read nor respond to any suspicious message coming from unknown foreign numbers.
To protect your digital life and bank account from cyber fraud, some basic rules should be included in your habit. The first step is to never reply to unwanted messages from any unknown number, rather directly use the ‘Report & Block’ option of WhatsApp. Second, always turn off ‘App installation from unknown sources’ in your phone’s settings so that no APK file can be downloaded automatically. Third, go to the privacy section of WhatsApp settings and turn on the ‘Silence Unknown Callers’ feature, so that calls from unknown numbers are muted without ringing. Fourth, always keep Two-Step Verification active on WhatsApp so that your account cannot be cloned. If you inadvertently click on a fake link or notice suspicious transactions from your account, call the National Cyber Crime Helpline number 1930 without wasting any time or lodge a financial complaint immediately on the official portal cybercrime.gov.in so that the money can be held in time.