New Delhi, Oct 15 (NVI) A person receives a message on WhatsApp claiming that a particular amount of money has been debited from his/her bank account.
The message then adds: “If the transaction has not been done by you, please reply ‘No’.
And as soon as the person responds with the message ‘No’, money is actually withdrawn from his bacnk account.
Actually, it is a new variety of cyber fraud.
The WhatsApp message has a hidden malicious script which gets activated when a recipient responds to the message.
Cyber criminals gain access to the victim’s device and misuse banking-related information.
Such a fraud has been detected in Hyderabad where a man lost a large amount of money because of this.
According to Hyderabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar, such a fraud does not require sharing of any OTP or click on suspicious links.
The police commissioner described the alleged fraud as an “Auto-Execution File Attack”.
Sajjanar said he had come across reports of the scam targeting even professionals, including a chartered accountant.
Safety Tips
Avoid replying “YES” or “NO” to suspicious messages from unknown numbers.
Block the sender and delete the chat immediately.
Verify transactions only through official banking apps, websites or customer-care channels.
Ignore transaction alerts sent through unofficial WhatsApp accounts.
What To Do If You Become a Victim
Sajjanar reminded the public that legitimate banks do not usually ask customers to verify transactions through random WhatsApp messages.
Anyone who suspects cyber fraud should immediately call the national cybercrime helpline 1930 or file a complaint at cybercrime.gov.in.
He urged citizens to remain vigilant and verify all banking-related communications through official channels before taking any action. (NVI)
