“Congratulations! You have been nominated for the lucky draw of Rs 1,00,000. Kindly share the OTP sent to your mobile number to receive the amount”
If you have ever received such a message, you should know that this is a fraud- an online digital fraud!
You must have received such fraudulent messages many times. If not you, there would certainly be many who have fallen prey to such digital frauds where people end up providing their banking details and lose huge amounts of money instead of receiving any.
Online frauds are quite common and are often presented to the users in a very genuine tone. They are mostly shared through SMSs, messages, and emails. Though tracing such messages or frauds is a lengthy task, they can still be avoided by following the tricks given in the blog.
In this blog, we will share some tips to detect fake SMSs in seconds and what things you should take care of while dealing online.
5 Top Ways to Detect Fake SMSs
Urgent tone
The ultimate intent of the fake messages is to persuade a user to share their banking and other personal information at the earliest. Hence, they are written in a manner that shows the urgent requirement of the information that can be used to hack a user’s bank account or get access to their mobile phone.
Solution
It is easy to detect fake messages as they show urgency. Do not respond to such messages, do not share things that are being asked through the message. Connect with the cyber security team to file a complaint about the fraudulent activity.
Unknown sender
Unknown and unauthorized numbers are widely used to send fake messages to users. Such messages can be a trap to gain access to the user’s mobile phone and other banking and personal details. Many times after the fraud happens, such numbers become untraceable.
Solution–
Do not respond and share any banking details, personal information, etc, on such messages.
Offers something
There are messages that say users have received/won a cash amount or their subscription has ended or a third person tried to log in to his/her account. These fake messages create a panic like a situation where a user ends up sharing his/her details over the message.
Solution
Always take assistance from the authorized person. Do not get swayed away by such messages and immediately inform the cyber security team. Think twice before responding!
Errors and typos
Fake messages contain typos, errors, formatting issues, grammatical flaws, wrong sentence formation, etc.
Solution
Fake messages look genuine; hence, make sure to detect them through their way of writing and the sentence formation, typos etc.,
Suspicious links
Fake messages carry unauthorized and suspicious links also. These links, when clicked, can make the user data easy to track & trace along with getting access to the user’s mobile phone.
Solution
Never click on the links that are being shared through the messages. Always use the authorized play store to download and update any application or visit the official website to get more detailed information.
How to Avoid Fake Messages?
Not receiving fake messages is not possible, what is possible is to ignore them! Follow the given tips carefully to stay away from fake messages-
- Avoid responding to messages that are sent from unauthorized or unknown sources or numbers
- Do not call on unknown numbers
- Do not follow any instructions written on messages that are sent from unknown numbers
- Immediately block suspicious numbers
- Never share your banking or personal information over a message, email or call
- Remember that no genuine entity or registered number asks for the user’s personal information and banking details over a message
- Resist clicking on suspicious links even if they say that you need to update the existing apps. Always update, uninstall or download the application from the authorized play store only
- Never revert in a hurry
- Do not share information that prompts/urges/forces you to share your personal and banking details
- Always check the official website of the product or service you wish to gain information about
- Remember that phishing links end up with ngrok.io and shortened URLs like TinyURL and bit.ly
- Immediately block your account in case you shared the information with a third party
- Always double-check the transaction amount before sending it to the receiver
- Make sure to confirm the information on the internet about a brand, service or product you are interested in
- Educate yourself about online digital frauds
- Pay attention to what’s happening with your banking and personal details
- Make it a habit to check your bank passbook. Connect with your bank in case of detecting any fraud
How does Paytm keep your data safe?
Paytm strictly adheres to the given practices in order to keep the trust of millions of users-
- Users of the Paytm app are not allowed to record the screen or take screenshots
- Paytm’s security shield protects user data from unwanted access or transactions
- A user must enter a passcode or use the fingerprint sensor to use the Paytm application
- Users can receive help by visiting http://m.p-y.tm/care or browsing the Contact us 24×7 page of the app
