DGP urges people to be cautious about cyber crimes
Vijayawada: With the rapid expansion of internet usage in the digital era, cyber crimes are also increasing at an alarming rate, said DGP Harish Kumar Gupta. He said that cyber attacks on personal information, banking details, and social media accounts have become very common these days and emphasised that every individual should be aware of cyber crimes.
Gupta said cyber crimes can be curbed when every individual becomes aware of cyber safety, refrains from clicking on suspicious links, avoids responding to unknown calls, and never shares banking or personal details.
In a press release on Tuesday, the DGP said in recent times social media accounts are frequently receiving APK (Android Package) files from unknown mobile numbers and groups — examples include: PM KISAN YOJANA No 009.apk, ICICI Bank Credit Card Apply.apk, SBI ekyc.apk, YonoSBI.apk. Some of these APK files contain malware, spyware, or Trojan codes. When users unknowingly click on these APK files, personal information such as bank account details, passwords, contacts, messages, gallery files, etc., gets stolen from their phones and falls into the hands of hackers, the DGP warned. He said these cyber criminals not only empty the victim's bank accounts with a single click but also resort to blackmail using the stolen personal data. Some malicious apps are even capable of stealing OTPs received via SMS.
The DGP narrated a recent incident in which the cyber criminals stole Rs 94,000 from SBI customers. He said recently a farmer from Kanaganapalli area in Sri Sathya Sai district received a fake APK file on WhatsApp with name of PM Kisan Yojana. Assuming it was an official app, the farmer downloaded it, which led to cyber criminals stealing Rs 94,000 from his SBI bank account.
He suggested that the people to install proven antivirus/mobile security applications such as Avast, Norton, Bitdefender, etc., He said people should be cautious while using banking apps, and only conduct transactions through official banking applications. He further urged that anyone who falls victim to cyber crime should immediately call the helpline number 1930 or file a complaint at www.cybercrime.gov.in.
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