Mumbai : A new fraud has emerged where the customer is led to install
a third-party app, which provides access to the bank account. A
Bengaluru-based former bank official lost Rs.1 lakh after fraudsters
gained access to his phone by getting him to download an app that
allows for malicious access.
Narayan Hegde, a retired Syndicate Bank officer, was swindled after
he installed the AnyDesk app. Hegde was an e-wallet user and needed
help in restoring the app on his new phone. He called one of the
numbers that showed up after an online search for the mobile wallet's
helpline. The party at the other end directed Hegde to download the
AnyDesk app and asked him to forward a hashed string text that he
received. Soon after he did this, money was withdrawn from his account
in a series of debits.
When he contacted his bank's branch, he was informed that the money
was transferred to an Aditya Birla Payments Bank account using the
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform. While five transactions
were made to withdraw Rs.1.24 lakh, the fraudsters were successful in
debiting only RS.1 lakh. However, Hegde received alerts for just two
of the five transactions. " Banks shouldn't make their clients run
around and should follow the RBI guidelines to pay up customers when
they fall prey to such frauds. Even former bank employees are not
spared," said Prashanth Mali, a cyber law expert and a Bombay high
court lawyer. He added that the finance ministry should follow up with
banks' management teams for compliance with the RBI guidelines to
compensate victims of such frauds. Incidentally, two days after this
incident, the RBI cautioned banks on the "new modus operandi to commit
fraud in digital payments ". The banking regulator said that
fraudsters were luring victims to download the AnyDesk app from the
various app stores.
Besides obtaining permission from the users, it would generate a
nine-digit code which, if shared, provided the fraudsters with access
to the victim's mobile. The RBI noted that there are other apps
similar to AnyDesk that provide remote access to devices. According to
the RBI, this modus operandi can be used to carry out transactions
through any mobile banking and payment related apps, including UPI and
e-wallets.
(The Times of India,Times Business,Chennai,Tuesday,February 19,2019)
Courtesy : MPS
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