Nagaland Police alerts public about cyber frauds in State

KOHIMA: The Nagaland Police has urged the citizens to remain alert against various cyber frauds and crime prevalent in the State and has advised them to remain vigilant and careful at all times.

Superintendent of Police (Crime) & PRO, PHQ Nagaland, through a press release shared by DIPR Nagaland, stated that one recent fraud experienced in the country and now in the State is 'phishing' calls from scammers posing as customer care executives from Vodafone/Airtel/Jio and offering assistance for upgrading 4G SIMs to 5G to unsuspecting customers. The fraudsters send links in the name of 5G of telecom companies and if you open the link, there is a risk of hacking the phone. The fraudsters ask for sharing personal/banking information/OTPs.

Another common fraud frequently used by criminals is hacking of personal accounts of popular social media apps like Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, and use of the hacked accounts for fraudulent purposes like asking money/soliciting investments/bitcoins from their contact lists and siphoning money from accounts of unsuspecting victims. Also similar to this is the 'boss/friend impersonation scam', where fraudsters steal identity and photos of the victims available in the Internet and access the victims' friends from websites/contact list and send them messages asking for help in the form money transfer, merchant cards, e-wallets etc.

Also, some common frauds which are still active are: Fake customer care calls from banks regarding KYC updation/Debit Card expiry and asking bank account details and OTPs after which money is withdrawn from the victims account. These fake calls can also impersonate common payment apps like Google Pay, PayTm, PhonePe etc; Sextortion, where unsuspecting male/female victims accept video calls and messages from unknown numbers and are blackmailed for money after recording and morphing /misusing their pictures; Fake lottery wins, loan/insurance sanction, scratch card coupons, investment opportunity, jobs, electricity bill etc., are also commonly used to scam innocent victims.

The public have been again requested to remain cautious and vigilant and not be duped by such scams. The fraudsters are experienced scammers and take extra efforts to appear genuine and operate through multiple identities, accounts, phone numbers etc.

Citizens have been requested to maintain strict cyber security habits and practices as under: Never click on unverified links received through SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram etc.; Never accept request from strangers in social media without verification; Never fall for attractive messages regarding loans, lottery, online game prizes, investment, bitcoins etc.; Always use official stores like Google Play/App Store for downloading apps. Check permissions settings for each app downloaded; Use strong passwords and different passwords for different social media accounts and enable two-factor authentication. Review your social media privacy settings strictly. Avoid sharing personal information in social media; Never transfer money without completely verifying authenticity of the account, be it through bank transfer, payment apps, UPIs, e-Wallets etc.

In case of a financial fraud, the Nagaland Police has urged the public to immediately call cyber crime Helpline Number 1930 and register complaints at www.cybercrime.gov.in.

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