BE(A)WARE – A Booklet on Modus Operandi of Financial Frauds by the RBI

As a part of the public awareness initiative by the Consumer Education and Protection Department, Reserve Bank of India, conceptualized by the office of Ombudsman, Mumbai-II, the Reserve Bank of India ("RBI") has on March 07, 2022, released a booklet, “BE(A)WARE” on the common modus operandi used by fraudsters and precautions to be taken while carrying out various financial transactions.

The booklet aims to enhance public awareness about various types of financial frauds perpetrated on gullible customers while carrying out digital payments and other financial transactions.

The booklet elaborates on safeguards against commonly used fraudulent techniques, such as SIM swaps, vishing/phishing links, lottery, etc., including fake loan websites and digital apps.

Part A and B of the booklet detail the commonly observed modus operandi and precautions to be taken against fraudulent transactions relating to banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), respectively.

Part C of the booklet explains the general precautions and digital hygiene to be followed by the public.

The final section contains a glossary of commonly used terminologies in the performance of financial transactions with banks and other regulated entities of RBI to improve understanding thereof among the public.

Click here to access and download the Booklet - BE(A)WARE

Source: RBI Press Release: 2021-2022/1817

#BeAware #BeSecure #StaySafe #rbikehtahai #BeCyberSmart #DPAW #DigitalPaymentsAwarenessWeek

ADVISORY ON "BLUE WHALE CHALLENGE GAME"

ADVISORY ON "BLUE WHALE CHALLENGE GAME"

Blue whale game (The suicide game) is abetment to suicide. It is understood through various internet reports that it is shared among secretive groups on social media networks. The creators seek out their players/victims who are in depression and send them an invitation to join. The basis of the challenge is that an anonymous “group administrator,” otherwise known as “the curator,” hands out 50 tasks to selected “players” that must be completed, documented and posted during a 50-day period. Players of the challenge can’t stop playing once they’ve started; they are blackmailed and cyber bullied into completing the “game”.

Look out for following Signs and symptoms:

Becoming withdrawn from friends and familyPersistent low mood and unhappinessChild seems to be worried that stops him from carrying out day to day tasksSudden outbursts of anger directed at themselves or othersLoss of interest in activities that they used to enjoyVisible marks like deep cuts or wounds on any part of the body of the child.

How to protect your child from this game:

Check in with your child, ask how things are going. Ask if there have been things stressing them, or anything that has them worried. If your child is talking about any level of distress, do not hesitate to ask them about changes in mental health.Unless there is reason to believe your child already knows of or has played the game, don't discuss about the Blue Whale game. By doing so, you increase the chance that your child will search for it on their own.Monitor your children's online and social media activity to ensure they are not engaging with this game.Keep your eyes open for:Unusually secretive behaviour, mostly related to their online activityA sudden increase in the time they spend online, especially social mediaThey seem to change screens on their device when approachedThey become withdrawn or angry, after using the internet or sending text messagesTheir device suddenly has many new phone numbers and email contactsInstall a good cyber/mobile parenting software which helps them in monitoring your children.Parents should take reports from child counsellor present in the school at regular intervals.If you fear your child may be at risk, get professional help right away.Remind your child that you are there and will support them as they face life challenges.

For further information, You may visit the following URLs :

(a) http://ncpcr.gov.in/showfile.php?lang=1&level=1&sublinkid=1267&lid=1499(link is external)

(b) http://infosecawareness.in/Know-About-Blue-Whale-Suicide-Game(link is external)

(c) http://unicef.in/Uploads/Publications/Resources/pub_doc148.pdf0 bytes

(d) http://goapolice.gov.in/documents/adv.pdf0 bytes

(e) http://meghalaya.gov.in/megcms/sites/default/files/press_release/Press%20Release_0.pdf0 bytes

 

 
Dated. 12-09-2017

Source:- http://meity.gov.in/advisory-blue-whale-challenge-game

FBI — ‘Gameover’ Malware Targets Bank Accounts

FBI — ‘Gameover’ Malware Targets Bank Accounts:
‘Gameover’ Delivered Via Phishing E-Mails
Cyber criminals have found yet another way to steal your hard-earned money: a recent phishing scheme involves spam e-mails—purportedly from the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA), the Federal Reserve Bank, or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)—that can infect recipients’ computers with malware and allow access to their bank accounts.

The malware is appropriately called “Gameover” because once it’s on your computer, it can steal usernames and passwords and defeat common methods of user authentication employed by financial institutions. And once the crooks get into your bank account, it’s definitely “game over.”

Gameover is a newer variant of the Zeus malware, which was created several years ago and specifically targeted banking information.

How Can You Protect Yourself?

- Obviously, make sure your computer’s anti-virus software is up to date.
- Don’t click on e-mail attachments from unsolicited senders. NACHA, FDIC, and the Federal Reserve all say they don’t send out unsolicited e-mails to bank account holders. If you want to confirm there’s a problem with your account or one of your recent transactions, contact your financial institution directly.
- Don’t accept unsolicited jobs online that require you to receive funds from numerous bank accounts and then wire the money to overseas accounts—you could get caught up in a criminal investigation.

How the scheme works: Typically, you receive an unsolicited e-mail from NACHA, the Federal Reserve, or the FDIC telling you that there’s a problem with your bank account or a recent ACH transaction. (ACH stands for Automated Clearing House, a network for a wide variety of financial transactions in the U.S.) The sender has included a link in the e-mail for you that will supposedly help you resolve whatever the issue is. Unfortunately, the link goes to a phony website, and once you’re there, you inadvertently download the Gameover malware, which promptly infects your computer and steals your banking information.

After the perpetrators access your account, they conduct what’s called a distributed denial of service, or DDoS, attack using a botnet, which involves multiple computers flooding the financial institution’s server with traffic in an effort to deny legitimate users access to the site—probably in an attempt to deflect attention from what the bad guys are doing.

But that’s not the end of the scheme: Recent investigations have shown that some of the funds stolen from bank accounts go towards the purchase of precious stones and expensive watches from high-end jewelry stores. The criminals contact these jewelry stores, tell them what they’d like to buy, and promise they will wire the money the next day. So the next day, a person involved in the money laundering aspect of the crime—called a “money mule”—comes into the store to pick up the merchandise. After verifying that the money is in the store’s account, the jewelry is turned over to the mule, who then gives the items to the organizers of the scheme or converts them for cash and uses money transfer services to launder the funds.

In many cases, these money mules are willing participants in the criminal scheme. But increasingly, as part of this scheme, we see an increasing number of unsuspecting mules hired via “work at home” advertisements who end up laundering some of the funds stolen from bank accounts. The criminals e-mail prospective candidates claiming to have seen their resumes on job websites and offer them a job. The hired employees are provided long and seemingly legitimate work contracts and actual websites to log into. They’re instructed to either open a bank account or use their own bank account in order to receive funds via wire and ACH transactions from numerous banks…and then use money remitting services to send the money overseas.

If you think you’ve been victimized by this type of scheme, contact your financial institution to report it, and file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.



'via Blog this'

A Phishing Mail from IT Dept ??

What would you do if you had got such a eMail... ?? Looks so much authentic, that any unsuspecting person can get carried away.

And I couldnt resist clicking on the Link... Google Chrome and AVG saved me !

Warning: Suspected phishing site!

The website at 184.172.167.157 has been reported as a “phishing” site. Phishing sites trick users into disclosing personal or financial information, often by pretending to represent trusted institutions, such as banks.

Learn more about phishing scams.

Report an error

If you feel you understand the risks, you may proceed anyway.

What is phishing?

Phishing is a type of attack whose goal is to steal private information, such as login credentials or credit card numbers, usually to carry out various types of financial fraud. An attacker impersonates a trusted entity, such as a bank, government, ISP, or large web site, and tries to trick people into giving up their private information. These attacks often take the form of "urgent" emails asking people to take immediate action in order to prevent some impending disaster. Examples include topics such as the following:

• "Our bank has a new security system. Update your information now or you won't be able to access your account."
• "We couldn't verify your information; click here to update your account."
• Sometimes the email claims that something awful will happen to the sender (or a third party), as in "The sum of $30,000,000 is going to go to the Government unless you help me transfer it to your bank account."

People who click on the links in these emails may be taken to a phishing site - a web page that looks like a legitimate site they've visited before, but is actually controlled by an attacker. Because the page looks familiar, people visiting these phishing sites enter their username, password, or other private information on the site. What they've unknowingly done is given a third party all the information needed to hijack their account, steal their money, or open up new lines of credit in their name. They just fell for a phishing attack.

The concept behind such an attack is simple: Someone masquerades as someone else in an effort to deceive people into sharing personal or other sensitive information with them. Phishers can masquerade as just about anyone, including banks, email and application providers, online merchants, online payment services, and even governments. And while some of these attacks are crude and easy to spot, many of them are sophisticated and well constructed. That fake email from "your bank" can look very real; the bogus "login page" you're redirected to can seem completely legitimate.

If you think you may have encountered a phishing site, please report the suspicious site to us.