Smart tips against cyberfraud: Experts shed light on small mistakes with big impact
Telegraph | 18 February 2025
A copy of your Aadhaar card shared as identity proof while checking into a hotel. A credit card handed to a waiter ata restaurant to settle the bill. Charging the phone at the airport.
Such seemingly innocuous activities can offer a gateway to digital fraudsters looking to steal your money, experts warned at a cyber security awareness programme on Saturday.
While senior citizens are more vulnerable to online fraud, the young are nowhere close to safety.
“While checking into a hotel, you are invariably asked to furnish a copy of your Aadhaar. Most of the time, you give it,” said Sandeep Sengupta, certified ethical hacker and expert on security policy and auditing.
“But why? The Supreme Court has barred private entities from using Aadhaar for know-your-customer authentication. Sharing your Aadhaar details can make you vulnerable to digital fraud.”
Sengupta suggested giving a copy of the driving licence or voter card instead of the Aadhaar.
Giving your credit card to a waiter at a restaurant is risky too, he said.
“Many international transactions do not need a one-time password. Money is directly debited from your account. The waiter can click a picture of your card and all the details are out in the open,” Sengupta, founder-director of the Indian School of Anti Hacking, said.
Charging your phone at a charging point in an airport or a cafe can be dangerous because the wires can be bugged, Sengupta said.
Sengupta was one of the speakers at a seminar on “Protecting Yourself from Cyber Threat”, organised by the Rotary Club of Greater Calcutta.
Fraudsters are evolving new techniques with each passing day and it’s impossible to pre-empt their next move, the speakers said.
At least three people lost money over the past few days while trying to withdraw cash at an ATM of a nationalised bank in Jadavpur, less than 5km from where the Rotary Sadan event was held. The victims told police their cards got stuck in the ATM slot and would not come out.
Calls to a helpline number advertised inside the kiosk prompted them to provide their PINs — ostensibly to “lock” the cards — they told the police. Within minutes of the PIN being shared, the money was gone.
Hari Kishore Kusumakar, ADG of the cyber crime cell of Bengal police, who gave a presentation at Saturday’s event, said cyber crimes had skyrocketed in India.
According to data from the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), 26,049 cases of cyber crimes were reported in India in 2019. In 2024, the number was 65 times higher at 1,709,619.
“Around 7,000 cases are being reported on the NCRP portal daily. As per the report of the Union ministry of home affairs, the total amount of fraud in 2024 was ₹22,000 crore,” Kusumakar said.
Cambodia’s border regions have emerged as the new hub of cyber crimes, the officer said.
“Young, English-speaking victims are trafficked from India, China and other countries to closed compounds in Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos. They are forced into cyber crimes. We have data on many who are trapped there and have not been able to come back,” Kusumakar said.
He said mule accounts and fake SIMs were the two wheels keeping cybercrime running, and that investment fraud and digital arrest were the two most prominent trends.
The scammers play mainly on two human emotions. “For investment frauds, the scammers tap into (the victims’) greed. Fear has been fuelling digital arrests,” Kusumakar said.
Former Calcutta police commissioner Prasun Mukherjee, chairman of the event’s organising committee, said: “You cannot be defrauded without your involvement. This seminar aims to make you aware of the methods to avoid online traps and the means of approaching the right channel for redress if you have been duped.”
A man who was at the helm of India’s largest lender advised people against keeping apps on their phone that they do not use regularly.
“Delete apps that you don’t need. Reload them when needed. If you have to, log off every time from each of the apps, including Facebook,” said Arijit Basu, who retired as managing director of the State Bank of India and is now chairman of HDB Financial.
“Do not use multiple apps simultaneously. While you are using Amazon, do not place orders on Swiggy,” he said.
Basu gave two fundamental tips: “Do not trust anyone. Always verify. Do not ignore messages sent by the bank, even about the smallest of transactions.”
Reporting the fraud at the earliest is the key to possible redress, the audience wasadvised.