Smartphone user beware! Phone number of anyone being used for fraud

News Cover: If you use a smartphone, extra care will have to be taken in the coronary period. The reason is that hackers are using your phone number to fraud, the information of which people are getting to know after a long time. 

HDFC, the largest private sector bank, has sent an email to its customers and warned them of Sim Swap Fraud. The bank has written that 'SIM swap is an activity in which a new SIM is issued against your mobile number through a mobile service provider without your knowledge. It is used to obtain one-time password (OTP) and other information, which is necessary for conducting financial transactions.

fraudster obtains the bank account details of the victim and the registered mobile number through social engineering strategies like phishing, vishing, smishing etc. After this, he can go to the mobile operator's retail outlet presented as a victim or can simply submit to replace the SIM. The original SIM gets blocked with a fake ID proof. 

After verification, the operator disables the SIM of the real customer (victim) and issues a new SIM card to the fake customer (fraudster). Now the fraudster gets the OTP along with the new SIM for fraudulent transactions on the victim's accounts using banking details obtained through phishing / vishing tactics. In such a situation, people have no option to do anything and all the money is blown out of their accounts. The customer has no choice but to change only the phone number and block the card. 

You can do this to be safe

• if your mobile number is inactive, then call your mobile operator immediately to know the reason. 
• Register for regular SMS and email alerts for your banking transactions.
• Keep a regular track of your bank statement and transaction history.