Protecting Yourself from Vishing & Smishing frauds in India

Awareness is necessity

Vishing & Smishing fraud is a type of scam that involves the use of text messages and Voice calls to trick individuals into revealing sensitive personal information such as bank account details, passwords, and credit card numbers. This type of fraud has become increasingly common in India, with many people falling victim to these scams every year. In this blog, we will discuss what Vishing & Smishing frauds are, how it works, and what steps you can take to prevent falling victim to these scams.

What is Vishing & Smishing Fraud?

Vishing & Smishing fraud is a type of social engineering scam that involves the use of text messages and Voice calls to trick individuals into revealing sensitive personal information. The term "vishing" is a combination of "voice" and "phishing," which refers to the use of voice calls to trick individuals into revealing personal information. In "Smishing" fraud, scammers use text messages instead of voice calls to deceive their victims.

How Does Vishing & Smishing Fraud Work?

Vishing & Smishing fraud typically starts with a text message that appears to be from a legitimate source, such as a bank or a government agency. The message may ask the recipient to click on a link or call a phone number to verify their account details or claim a prize. Once the victim clicks on the link or calls the number, they are directed to a fake website or automated voice system that prompts them to enter their personal information.

The fake website or voice system may look and sound legitimate, making it difficult for the victim to detect that they are being scammed. The scammers may also use techniques such as urgency or fear to pressure the victim into giving up their personal information.

Prevention Steps for Vishing & Smishing Fraud

Be cautious of unsolicited text messages and Calls: If you receive a text message or call from an unknown source asking for personal information, do not respond. Legitimate companies and government agencies will not ask for personal information over text message.
Do not click on links: If a text message contains a link, do not click on it. The link may direct you to a fake website that will prompt you to enter personal information.
Verify the source: If you receive a text message from a company or government agency that you do business with, verify the source before responding. Call the company or agency directly to confirm that they sent the message.
Use two-factor authentication: Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security to your accounts. It requires you to enter a code that is sent to your phone in addition to your password.
Keep your software up to date: Make sure that your phone's software is up to date. Updates often include security patches that can help protect against Vishing & Smishing fraud and other types of scams.

Conclusion:

Vishing & Smishing fraud is a serious threat in India. Scammers use text messages to trick individuals into revealing sensitive personal information. To prevent falling victim to these scams, it is important to be cautious of unsolicited text messages, verify the source, avoid clicking on links, use two-factor authentication, and keep your software up to date. By taking these steps, you can help protect yourself from Vishing & Smishing fraud and other types of scams.

If you are already scammed and lost money, then you can call cybercrime helpline number 1930 immediately or you can register a complaint on our government portal www.cybercrime.gov.in. The first 2-4 hours are called golden hours. If you register a complaint in these golden hours, then chances are increased of getting money back.

Stay Safe Stay Secure, Jai Hind!

Comments

Exploiting and Securing GitLab: Lessons from a TryHackMe Lab

Perimeter security isn’t enough—because sometimes the threat is already inside. In this blog post, I’m sharing what I learned from a hands-on TryHackMe lab on GitLab security . It revealed how a simple internal misconfiguration—like open registration or overly permissive repo access—can lead to major data exposure inside an organization. I’ll walk you through the red team perspective on exploiting a misconfigured GitLab instance , and then flip the script to explain how you can secure your own internal build systems . Scenario: Inside the Walls of a Large Organization Think of a large organization—like a bank—with thousands of employees and multiple teams handling development, IT operations, and security. To keep intellectual property (IP) secure, these organizations often host self-managed GitLab instances on their internal network. But here’s where things can go wrong: GitLab is hosted internally Allows anyone on the internal network to register Has some projects...

Email Security Deep Dive: 13 Steps to Keep Your Emails Safe

Email Security Checklist The Email Security Checklist 1. Enable SPF (Sender Policy Framework) What it is: SPF is like a guest list for your email domain. It tells the world that only specific servers are allowed to send email for your domain. How it works: Publish an SPF record in DNS. When someone receives an email claiming to be from your domain, their mail server checks if the sending IP is listed in the SPF record. If the IP is not listed, the email is rejected or marked as spam. Example SPF record: v=spf1 ip4:203.0.113.0/24 include:_spf.google.com -all Only servers in the specified IP range and Google’s mail servers can send emails for this domain. Others are rejected. Points to Note: Prevents attackers from spoofing your domain and sending phishing or spam emails. 2. Enable DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) What it is: DKIM is a digital signature for each email, ensuring that the message hasn’t been tampered with. Ho...

Do you know, by blindly following trends and using hashtags you can be the victim of cyber crime? : #couplechallenge

Awareness is necessity "Nohashtag challenges" Nowadays, #couplechallenge, #smilechallenge, #chirichchallenge trending on social media platforms. But do you know the history of hashtags? Lets see, how hashtag was invented. Chris Messina a product designer who has been working in Silicon Valley created the idea of hashtag. He and his small group of colleagues were thinking that twitter needs some kind of frame work. He got the idea of hashtag from internet chat room that had pound symbol in front of them. His main idea to create hashtag was for the internet and wanted that anybody writing text on internet be able to participate in global conversation. In 2007, he asked one of his friends to use #sandiego for his tweets and this way the use of hashtag started. In 2009, Twitter added the option of hashtag to its search bar. And this way hashtag became a trend. This trend then being followed by other apps like tumbler, Facebook, instag...

પ્રાઇઝ સ્કેમ: જો તમારે ઇનામ મેળવવા માટે ચૂકવણી કરવી પડતી હોય તો તે ઇનામ નથી

Awareness is necessity શું તમને ક્યારેય કોઈ કોલ્સ આવ્યા છે કે જેમાં તમે કોઈ પણ ઓનલાઇન શોપિંગ વેબસાઇટમાંથી ઇનામ અથવા લોટરી જીતી લીધી હોય તેવું કહે છે? શક્યતા છે કે આ કોલ્સ ફ્રોડ છે. સાયબર સ્વયંસેવક તરીકે, મેં આ પ્રકારની છેતરપિંડીઓના કેટલાક કેસ નું અધ્યયન કર્યું છે. ચાલો સમજીએ કે આ પ્રકારની છેતરપિંડી કેવી રીતે થાય છે? !! છેતરપિંડી કરનાર તમને કોઈપણ વિશ્વસનીય ઓનલાઇન શોપિંગ સાઇટમાંથી કર્મચારી હોવાનુ કહે છે.તેઓ તમને સાઇટ પરથી તમારી છેલ્લી ખરીદી વિશેની વિગતો, ઉત્પાદન અને ઓર્ડર ની વિગતો સાથે તમને મનાવવાનો પ્રયાસ કરે છે. જ્યારે કોઈ વ્યક્તિ માને છે કે છેતરપિંડી કરનાર ઓનલાઇન સાઇટનો કર્મચારી છે, ત્યારે તેઓ તમને વિવિધ ઇનામો જેવા કે લેપટોપ, ટીવી, મોબાઇલ ફોન વિશે આકર્ષક યોજનાઓ આપે છે અને તમારી પાસેથી એક ઇનામ પસંદ કરવાનો વિકલ્પ આપે છે.જ્યારે તમે થોડી રુચિ બતાવો અને ઇનામ પસંદ કરો ત્યારે ઉલ્લેખિત ઇનામમાંથી, તેઓ તમને SMS તરીકે એક લિંક મોકલે છે.મોકલેલી લિંક એ છેતરપિંડીની લિંક છે જે તમારી વિગતો જેવી કે બેંક વિગતો તેમજ વ્યક્તિગત માહિતી માટે પૂછે છે.નોંધણી કરતી વખતે, તે તમને તમારા સ્થા...

e-SIM fraud : All you need to know about e-SIM and SIM swapping fraud

Awareness is necessity Ever heard about the place, Jamtara? Many of you must have seen the famous series "Jamtara: Sab ka number ayega" on Netflix. It is located near Jharkhand's capital Ranchi. This place has become a hub for phishing and bank fraud. Recently, Jamtara has come in the limelight because this place's fraudsters have started a new type of crime/ fraud, i.e. e-SIM fraud. Do you know what eSIM is? e-SIM stands for the "Embedded Subscriber Identity Module." You don't need to buy a telecom operator's SIM card separately and insert it into your mobile. e-SIM is a part of your smartphone's hardware. This e-SIM chip comes pre-installed on your smartphone. Its working is the same as our standard SIM, which saves information like IMSI number, some contact details etc. e-SIM is re-writable means previous telecom operator related details can be erased and new information can be written again by a new telecom operator. This type o...

OLX fraud : Beware of this new fraud/scam of 'Army men'

Awareness is necessity Nowadays, OLX related frauds are increasing, such as share OLX password/OTP, QR code scams, Paytm link scam etc. The most occurring cases are related to Army personnel. Instead of writing all the things, it will be better to watch the video by a YouTuber, Mr. Rohit R Gaba and lets see How fraudster makes fools to people as Army personnel. Here, in the video, the fraudster talked about QR code. Let's understand what a QR code is and how fraud can be occurred by QR code. QR code ( Quick Response code ), We can store so much information within it in text form. I made one QR code that stores information such as a person's name, aadhar card number, etc. We can store any data with the QR code. Same fraudster store bank details and malicious code so that when you scan that QR code, the money will be debit from the account directly. How to protect ourselves from online OLX frauds? Always prefer face to face meetings with buyers or sellers and ...

Cybermini Articles

Search This Blog