KYC Scam Looted 8000 Victims
Have ever received this message of KYC Scam?
“Dear user… your KYC expired today. Please call 9* to update immediately. Visit this link to update your KYC. Your number will be blocked.”
Because of this message the process to lure customers into a KYC scam starts. This message contains a link by clicking to which you will be directed to phishing pages and malware apps. After a few minutes, you will be robbed.
The Delhi Police’s Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit have arrested 23 men so far of the gang which is spread across India and allegedly looting the victims. As per the Police information they have allegedly looted over 8000 victims pan India.
How They Scammed Victims
Being clever enough they have misled people into the scam by using the message of the SBI Yono app’s imitation of updating KYC. They were sending the messages to update KYC with SBI to procure the net banking credentials from the customers.
After a victim falls into their scheme, they instruct them to fill in their form details on a phishing app. Once the information is filed the fraudsters can access all including the one-time passwords (OTP). Then they transfer all the funds to another bank account and distribute them among themselves.
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Police Statements
A Delhi police officer said, “An average victim was looted of around Rs 25,000. Some of the victims lost over a lakh as well.”
K.P.S. Malhotra, DCP, IFSO said, “After technical analysis of the links sent by the victims, hosting of the links, mobile call analysis, the financial trail was carried out. It was revealed that they are operating in a very organised manner from various places scattered all over India.”
Further, DCP said, “Their hideouts in Surat, Kolkata, Girdih, Jamtara, Dhanbad and Delhi NCR were identified. On 25 March, coordinated raids were conducted in these locations after reconnaissance.”
They were almost untraceable.
He added, “This was done after we noticed during technical analysis that the mobile phones and other digital footprints of the accused went off the radar at the same time, so if one of the accused was apprehended, the rest would have gone untraceable.”
Further, a Police official said, “Fifty-eight mobile phones, 12 laptops, 20 debit cards and 202 SIM cards were recovered from those arrested. The devices are now being forensically examined, and so far, 820 pre-existing complaints have been linked with those arrested.”
