Phishing is a type of cybercrime in which a target is contacted via email, phone call, or text message by a person posing as a legitimate organization in order to trick the recipient into disclosing sensitive information like passwords, banking, and credit card information, and personally identifiable information.
In NEW DELHI: The government informed parliament on Tuesday that over 9 lakh phishing and vishing events had been registered in the previous two years, and that customers had collectively lost close to Rs 1500 crore as a result between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2022.
According to Bhagwat Karad, Minister of State for Finance, “the number of incidents and the amount of loss incurred by the customers due to Phishing, Vishing, and Credential/OTP compromise attributed to breach on the part of the customers between 1.4.2020 to 31.3.2022 stood at 9,34,109 and Rs. 1,434.75 crore respectively.”
Phishing is a type of cybercrime in which a target is contacted via email, phone call, or text message by a person posing as a legitimate organization in order to trick the recipient into disclosing sensitive information like passwords, banking, and credit card information, and personally identifiable information.
Vishing uses verbal swindles to con others into acting in ways they think are beneficial for them. Vishing frequently continues where phishing ends. A vishing phone call is when a con artist employs social engineering to induce you to divulge financial and personal information, including account numbers and passwords. The con artist may claim that your account has been compromised, pose as a representative of police enforcement or your bank, or they may offer to assist you in installing software.
In a LocalCircles survey, 42% of Indians stated they or a member of their family had experienced financial fraud in the previous three years. The top crimes customers have encountered over the past few months include bank account fraud, fraud by shady eCommerce businesses, and fraud involving credit and debit cards. Only 17 percent of the families who had been victims of financial fraud in the previous three years were able to recover their money, and 74% were unable to find any resolution.
Citizens have been urged by the RBI to report any financial fraud they may have come across. Experts recommend using an alpha-numeric password lock for email, computers, and mobile phones that are tough to crack in order to protect against such financial loss.
Importantly, the account password used to conduct transactions should be changed at random intervals. The promotion of financial literacy in diverse Indian languages needs to be a higher priority for banks. The government and RBI should occasionally organize awareness programmes on the risk of financial scams, how financial information is stolen, and what else needs to be secured, according to users of the LocalCircles platform.
“Similar to this, there is a pressing need to improve the complaint procedures people use to contact their bank or financial organization. If only 17 percent of those who experienced financial fraud were able to recover their money, it is obvious that even among those who complain, only 1 in 6 is likely to find a resolution—and even then, it may take a long time and numerous follow-ups. Similar to this, the policing system, which a vast majority of Indians cite as their first grievance, is just not equipped to deal with such difficulties or even offer advice “explained LocalCircles founder Sachin Taparia.
