Haryana Police alert people on fake unpaid Electricity Bills messages
Chandigarh, May 15 – Haryana Police has issued an advisory requesting citizens not to share any information on fraud messages being sent to them regarding unpaid electricity bills along with a contact number.
Cautioning the people to be aware of such scammers, a Haryana Police spokesperson informed that a latest trend of cybercrime has come to the fore in which cyber fraudsters have started duping people in the name of unpaid electricity bill. They send text messages pretending to be from trusted sources to get targets to click on links that install malware to steal personal and banking details. We are constantly trying to help the people by advising them to refrain from falling into the trap of such scammers.
Explaining the modus operandi, he informed that such fraudsters first send text messages to the target phone numbers stating ‘Your Electricity Power will be disconnected as your previous month’s bill was not updated and contact with a given number. Once the victim makes contact with the given number, the fraudsters try to convince the victim to share the bank account details for the purpose of verifying previous payments. They also asked to install remote access applications like Anydesk, Team viewer etc.
Once the victim shares the information by following the instructions given, the victim’s bank account is under the fraudster’s control to make fraudulent transactions.
Suggesting people to be extremely cautious of such criminals, the spokesperson advised them never to share their personal information or phone number unless they know the person or organization well. Avoid downloading software from unofficial sources and also avoid providing personal or financial information in response to the unsolicited text or at a website linked to the message. People should also avoid clicking on links in suspicious text, they could install malware on your device
If however, you still become a victim, report any such incidents on the cybercrime.gov.in portal or the nearest police station.
