The Age of Digital Frauds
BY HOOK OR BY CROOK
Ahmedabad Mirror, Digital Fraud Section, filed under "DEEPDIVE WITH MIRROR" Sub-Heading, City Edition dated December 3rd, 2019.
In this day and age, the ways in which Digital Frauds occur is extremely difficult to predict. As a Qualified Forensic Accounting and Fraud Prevention expert, I am sharing my thoughts about this phenomenon and to recommend some common ways in which you can detect the RED FLAG to pop up every time you encounter any kind of Digital Fraud. Let me take this up section by section:
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ONE-TIME PASSWORD VIA FAKE LISTINGS:
These days, one can never trust what looks like a very attractive listing that you may see either online on the internet, or in the print media, like a flyer or a brochure claiming some fantastic and out of this word experience if you "contact this number" either on WhatsApp or by calling it. The thing to watch in such cases would be the kind of offer that they are advertising. Being a proficient blogger myself, it is fortunate that I have developed my own system of first verifying their "tall claims" using my own methodology. These are some of the things that you should look for:
(a) use of a tag line belonging to a known company or corporation along with the statement that they "are a recognized
franchisee" who may not actually be one.
(b) Use of a short link like "bit.ly", goo.gl" and the like, because a known corporation would normally state that the so-and-so person is looking after the region and would therefore use it's own website or blog etc.
(c) NEVER USE YOUR REGISTERED MOBILE TO RESPOND TO THEM, instead use a mobile that is not registered in any bank in any way. If the party is genuine, they would detect that you are not their customer and would ask you to visit the nearest branch.
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SIM SWAP ATTACKS:
By far the most dangerous methods used by scamsters these days,
the best way to counter such an attack would be to have some sort of Internet Security installed on your smart phone (registered with the banks and containing your passwords), which, if handled properly, will lock-down any unknown instrument trying to activate your mobile number, irrespective of the mobile company which provides you this service. Install the same internet security system on your laptop or computer and register your smart phone as an authorized device on their portal. For instance, McAfee provides this service in return for a very nominal fee on a yearly basis.
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SEKING ACCOUNT OR CARD DETAILS FOR REFUND:
I have had this attempted on me multiple times, and when I told the caller that I will nto provide these details on the phone, because he was not an authorized representative of the bank that he was trying to represent, he started shouting at me on the phone saying that I was insulting an officer of the bank! Well, that is the RED FLAG for you, because firstly RBI has been saying this on various advertisements, bot in the print and the television media, that no bank will ever call you up and expect you to reveal even your card number, because that is something that they obviously have on their own record!! Secondly, the very purpose that the bank provides by the facility of a "Pin" is lost the moment you reveal it to an unknown person (not being your wife / husband / brother / sister / mother / father /
another highly trusted relative)!!
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FAKE PROFILES ON MARKETPLACES:
Do not use your PayTM or Bank activated Smartphone to transfer even an innocuous amount of money to any such Fake Profiles, always insist on a face-to-face meeting first
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KYC VERIFICATION FOR PAYMENT APPS:
This is by far the most difficult scam to detect, what with now even Ola offering to validate your KYC on the ride that you are presently on. While I am not saying that Ola / Uber would misuse your data, but you do not even know whether the driver who comes to pick you up is even who he says he is!! Just walk into the nearest Customer Care Centre and have the executive there complete your KYC for you!!
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CA VIKRAM SHANKAR MATHUR
03-Nov-2019 | 15:21 Hours IST
The Age of Digital Frauds
