Curated By: Business Desk
Last Updated: October 13, 2023, 18:33 IST
He did not even share his bank details with the scamster.
In his statement, the former Union Minister said almost Rs 1 lakh was stolen from his savings account.
The advent of the technological era has resulted in various online scams and thefts. Cyber fraud cases are rapidly increasing in our country. Now, almost everyone in this world owns a smartphone and hence carries the risk of getting scammed. From politicians to celebrities, no one is safe. Recently, DMK leader and MP Dayanidhi Maran became a victim of cyber fraud. He was duped of Rs 99,999 from his Axis Bank account. He did not even share his bank details. In his statement, the former Union Minister said almost Rs 1 lakh was stolen from his savings account after the scammers bypassed all normal safety protocols.
The former minister told police that he didn’t share any OTP or account details with anyone, yet he was scammed. He said that his wife, Priya Maran received the phone calls three times from the same number. Shortly after the call, Dayanidhi Maran received a debit message of Rs 99,999 from his bank account. This has now left common people wondering the way through which such scams can be avoided.
According to a report by Times of India, a cyber security professional said that money may have been withdrawn through a malicious app in the case of Minister Maran. He said that it may have been possible that while talking to an unknown person, his wife may have pressed a button and due to this app got downloaded on her phone. He further explained the possible working of that app and said that OTP was read by that app before the user could see the message. It must have deleted that message after sending the OTP number to scammers. For this reason, Maran may not have been able to see the number.
Cybercrime prevention expert NA Vijayshekhar said in an interview that banks need to secure their servers to prevent such scams. He also claimed that in the Minister’s case, it is possible that servers were compromised. Smartphone users should be extremely cautious to avoid becoming the victim of online fraud. One should never share their bank details with any third person until and unless you are sure about their identity. You should also not click on the link through emails or SMS, as it can lead to the download of malicious apps.