Search This Blog

Showing posts with label Banking scam. Show all posts

Singapore Witnessed a Sudden Surge in the Bank-Related Phishing Scam


Phishing emails are scams where the actors try to befool the user by sending emails that may concern the user. Generally, these emails are received in the name of a bank or some trusted company, that asks for your personal information. The entire process appears to be legitimate but it's designed to trick the user into extracting their personals information. 

We all buy or sell things online through various platforms and organizations that have our personal information stored in their database that is nevertheless safe until and unless the actors impersonate these organizations and befool users into submitting their OTP’s, passwords, etc. The user is safe from such phishing emails as long as they do not respond in the required condition to the mail. 

The city-state of Singapore has turned out to be a victim of extortion with phishing emails that have even agonized the government officials. On the 5th of January, the Singapore government officials stated that there have been bank-related phishing scams where the actors have been imitating to be Singapore Government officials and asking natives for their personal information.  Generally, the victims in such scams receive a call or email or even a message from some government agencies like the Ministry of Manpower, asserting some issues within the victim’s bank account. 

Furthermore, they ask to verify some personal details that should have stayed confidential – such as their NRIC numbers, password of bank account, log-in credentials, and much more. Following the aforesaid state of affairs, the actors then try to make illegitimate transactions of money from the victim’s account. 

The first six months of the year 2020 have reported some 900 cases of bank-related phishing scams and a more than 25-fold from the just 34 such cases for the same period in the year 2019, stated the Singapore Police. The amount of loss has been calculated to $ 3.6 million for the year 2020. 

The Singapore Police in charge of the case has requested the natives to ignore such calls and deny stipulating any information regarding the bank account or the log -in credentials and any private details. They clarified that no government agency in any situation would ask for any private information or bank account details over a phone call or via emails. Scammers or actors may mask their actual phone numbers and try to display a different profile using ID spoofing technology as further added by the police. 

After recording a significant surge in these cases Singapore government officials have asked for cooperation and support from the city natives, requesting them not to share their personal or internet banking details and OTP’s with anyone.

The Central Bank of Russia spotted a fraud scheme using the voice menu of one of the banks

The Central Bank of Russia informed banks that fraudsters use the voice menu to get information about the status of customers' accounts, using only the last four digits of the card.

It all started with the fact that one of the credit organizations reported a sharp increase in the number of calls to customers from fraudsters, and the attackers knew the exact amount on the accounts.

It turned out that the scammers made phone calls to the IVR system (Interactive Voice Response), replacing customer numbers. When calling from a client's number, they requested information about the remaining funds by entering the last four digits of the Bank card.

After that, the scammers called potential victims and introduced themselves as Bank employees. As proof of authenticity, they provided customers with information about their account balances. After that, they successfully used social engineering methods to steal money.

The phone numbers of customers and their Bank cards were compromised and spread on the Internet. The Central Bank believes that fraudsters could get them from the Joom client base, which was in the public domain. Then, representatives of the online store and banks assured that there is no danger for customers, since the data that fell into the hands of fraudsters is not enough to debit money from their accounts.

It turns out that the last four digits of the card may be enough to get confidential information from Bank customers. But this information is not officially classified as secret and is printed on any check.

According to Sergey Golovanov, a leading expert at Kaspersky Lab, the use of biometrics can simplify the identification process for the user and make this process more secure. At the same time, the expert believes that the use of biometrics would increase its cost for the Bank. Thus, despite the recommendations of the Central Bank, banks will continue to minimize their costs in this area, risking making their customers victims of fraud.

Cyber Criminals Use New Method To Steal Funds From Bank Customers' Account

According to a report of the Central Bank, this year, Bank fraudsters have a new way of stealing from Bank cards, they pose as Bank employees using the technology to substitute phone numbers. Special IP-telephony services allow them to perform substitution of numbers, or scammers disguise the number using the letters OOO instead of 000 and so on.

It is noted that the two tools help the scammers to commit thefts. The first is access to personal data. Only in the last six months, the Central Bank specialists found 13 thousand ads for buying or selling names and phone numbers. Attackers, who got personal data, can easily simulate a conversation as an employee of a credit institution, insurance company or government agency.

The second tool of scammers is special programs that allow them to disguise as the official number of the Bank. The Central Bank recognised the falsification of Bank numbers as a new massive way of stealing money from the population.

According to the Bank of Russia, this summer the number of fraudulent calls to customers increased dramatically, and in June-August, the regulator sent data to Telecom operators on more than 2.5 thousand numbers from which calls to customers of Banks were received. However, only 200 numbers were blocked.

Experts believe that blocking numbers is not the best way to combat fraud. It would be more correct to stop the leakage of personal data from Banks and other organizations.

Thefts are mostly associated with the substitution of phone numbers, and Telecom operators refer to the lack of norms in the law. We will initiate changes to the law on communications, - said Artem Sychev, the First Deputy Head of the Department of information security of the Central Bank.

HDFC Bank Issues Warning Against a New Online Scam: Here's What you Should Know!

HDFC Bank has sent out a warning to its online banking users about a scam carried out by an app known as AnyDesk which is used by hackers for stealing money through unified payments interface (UPI). The main objective of the scam is to acquire unauthorized access to a victim’s mobile and carry out illegal transactions without any knowledge of the account holder.

In February, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), said, ‘AnyDesk’ have the ability to acquire complete access to users mobile devices which is exploited by hackers to steal their money via making transactions remotely. AnyDesk is a remote device control app which allows the remote controlling of devices.

Bewaring the customers, the bank has issued an official mailer concerning the matter and further warned its users that hackers attempt to access their account related confidential information such as OTP, PIN, expiry date, debit card details, and other sensitive data which is required for the purpose of authentication during transactions.

To ensure the safety of its users, HDFC Bank advised them against sharing their confidential data with anonymous callers and in order to keep their bank balance fortified, they should avoid downloading any apps onto their smartphones.

Commenting on the matter, the bank said, "Beware! Fraudsters may ask you to download AnyDesk App and share a 9-digit code which gets them access to your phone to steal money. Do not share your card details / OTP / PIN with anyone and report any unusual activity immediately to the bank.”