It’s a need of the hour and the topic of discussion – How to stay safe online. Promptly, Cybersecurity Awareness session was hosted by WIT, India. The speaker of the day is Sanjana Rathi, Cyber security specialist. She shared her wisdom on Cybercrimes, preventive measures and practical solutions to the problems.
In this blog the victim is called Mr. David and Scamster/Predator is called Goliath.
The mobile number magic
We tend to be free with our Phone number and basic details and while billing in a hotel, service provider, coupons for Free raffles, we tend to share the number for free without thinking much on the consequences. There are no proper policies with the application to guard our data and hence it gets leaked to the predators who are waiting for an opportunity to prey on us.
Call forwarding scam:
Mr. David was approached by Goliath asking him to dial few numbers and at that time David was unaware, call forwarding would be activated in his mobile and his data would be stolen, As the call forwarding is activated in his mobile and Goliath used WhatsApp for Business installed newly in his phone and messaged his contacts asking for money. Few people got scammed and others reached out to this Mr. Dávid and only then he was aware he and his friends were under cyberattack.
Cyber security:
“Cyber security is about being aware and takes lots of practice to stay safe from Scammers”.
There are lot of challenges in the digital era. We tend to agree to Application license without going through the documentation granting them access for our personal data such as Contacts, Photos, location and much more.
Types of Cyberthreats:
Cyber threats are classified majorly into four categories.
• Malware
• Phishing
• Ransomware
• DDos attacks
Phishing:
Goliath uses social engineering tactics to send you link, we are prompted to download link/ respond to a mail or pay our utility bills using the link. Once we click it by mistake, we would be routed to a fake website asking us for our bank details and we would be scammed.
Voice cloning/Face cloning in Ransomware:
Cyber Crime tools using AI, Metaverse – predators use Voice cloning/Face cloning asking for money transfer. A businessman’s secretary was asked by a man pretending to be his boss asking for money transfer through voice call. The secretary was vigilant and as the ransomware amount was huge. He did reach out to his boss and found out it was a fake Request. If at all he wasn’t careful, they would have got scammed.
Data Hygiene:
Data Hygiene is important while we look out to buy new electronic devices and haul away the older ones. Some of the suggestions to be practiced are,
- Get a phone/system from a credible source.
- For Important data, have cloud storage and backup.
- Reg the Disposal of the data regarding the resell of phone, degaussing of data must be done to erase/dispose the data in the Mobiles/Systems.
- Cyber criminals make use of E-waste from foreign nations. They look in for the Recycle bin of the systems for data.
- Always be cautious and verify before taking a step for transaction.
UPI Fraud:
• RBI regulations – on the first transaction, Report the crime on time by calling 1093 (Cybercrime helpline) – 4 hours within the incident and contacted the bank to freeze the account. Report to the ombudsman. It’s likely the bank has to refund the amount.
“Scamsters fuel on the fear of the Victim to prey on them”
Digital Arrest:
The recent day scam is as follows, At midnight, Mr. David got a call from Goliath impersonating that he is a Customs officer calling to say that Mr. David has sent a Package which contains a Illegal item distant nation. The call gets connected to the Police Commissioner where they asked Mr. David is enquired on video call and team member of Goliath’s impersonate as police commissioner with the whole setup uniform and background and prey on the fear of David.
Mr. David is asked to Withdraw a huge amount of money from the bank. The bank employees found Mr. David acting weird and trying to close a huge amount of his savings in short notice. Meanwhile Goliath’s team would stay on call while Mr. David was at the bank. After multiple counselling by Banker and his trustworthy nature, David agreed that he was victimized and hence the scam is avoided.
Cyber security measures at Perficient:
ISMS awareness month is celebrated every year with various interesting games in order to educate and make us aware on the Domain spooking, different threats and solutions, Various mails been shared to us regarding the Do’s and Don’ts of using Perficient email and password management.
Conclusion:
With the advancement in AI, metaverse and Technology, Team of Goliaths comes up with various scams. They even use books like How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carenidge in order to trick people in liking them and to eventually scam them. We cannot eradicate cybercrimes completely. The best thing we can do is be aware of the ongoing scams and follow the safe practices in daily life. Staying cautious and vigilant and best practices will save us from cybercrime.
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