There has been an increase in financial fraud cases in Bihar as cyber criminals have resorted to phone hacking to commit these crimes.
According to an official spokesman for the Economic Offense Wing (EOW) Patna, after every digital transaction they use to hack individuals’ phones, the criminals send fake links and force users to send the one-time password (OTP) to empty the bank accounts.
The spokesman told IANS, “These criminals send a link to the person after every digital transaction. If the person clicks on this link, their phone will be hacked and the scammers will convert the amount in their bank accounts into a fixed deposit. After that, the account balance is considered zero. An OTP is then sent to the user’s cell phone number and the scammers call the person who assures them that if they split the OTP, they will return the entire amount. Desperate victims, split the OTP and these criminals will withdraw the money from their account. “
“In the past four months, over 570 cases have been reported from various districts such as Siwan, Gaya, Nalanda, Nawada, Begusarai, etc. Many cases may not have been reported either,” he said.
Seventy-four investigative teams, led by a senior inspector officer, consisting of four computer experts, an inspector, three sub-inspectors, and two police officers, have been set up in the state to investigate such cases.
Over 1,000 cyber fraud-related cases are reported in Bihar each year, most of them related to banking and online financial fraud, according to the official. Apart from that, cases related to uploading derogatory videos of women, creating fake Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts, and sending obscene messages in bulk are also reported.
