Beware of Online Fraudsters: Mumbai Cyber Crime Case Highlights the Need for Digital Literacy

We always strive to ensure that our student participants are aware about latest technologies and innovations, while also making sure they are aware of the potential dangers of the cyber world. We want to ensure that our student participants are digitally literate in the truest sense, so they are not only aware about the latest technology, but also know the potential dangers and how to stay safe. We are proud of all our student participants!

Today’s blog post is about the latest cybercrime that made headlines in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. This cybercrime victimized 80 people over a period of 16 days and collectively siphoned off almost 1 crore rupees (99.12 lakhs). This incident serves as a reminder that we need to be cautious before clicking on any link and be careful about sharing our personal and confidential information.

The cyber fraudsters duped 80 individuals who had their own bank accounts. They were sent messages of account deactivation or suspension due to KYC update pending or PAN card not updated, but the messages were not sent by the bank but by the fraudsters! As a result, these individuals lost money from their accounts.

Authorities have not found any data leak from the bank’s side, but they are still investigating the point of data leak that put these 80 individuals in this situation. It is uncertain whether these individuals will get their money back from the bank, as they clicked on the link without verifying and divulged their account information, despite constant warnings from banks. The Cyber Crime Unit of the Mumbai Crime Branch has taken up the case and hopes to achieve a breakthrough.

The list of individuals who were duped in this crime includes actor-politician Nagma, actor Malavika aka Shweta Menon, as well as other professionals, students, housewives, and retired senior citizens.

The Cyber Crime Unit is equipped with all the technical details to carry out the probe. They have issued warnings to customers to not panic on receiving such messages and instead get in touch with their respective banks personally instead of searching for the numbers on the internet.

The team is finding out and tracking from which subsidiary sub-lending financial institutions the data breach has occurred. They have also found the module of the organized crime syndicate involved in the fraud. However, it is too early to disclose their details. The total cases registered in the city till date tallied at 80.

In order to track down the scamsters, the Cyber Crime Unit has sought details of the 300 fake accounts and the 100 SIMs the fraudsters procured using fake documents. DCP (Mumbai-Cyber Crime) Dr. Balsing Rajput shared that no banks or financial institutions or service providers will warn anyone of the suspension of their accounts.

We hope this post helps you stay alert and safe while navigating the cyber world. Remember, always be cautious before clicking on any link and never share your personal or confidential information without verifying the source.