The Hindu Business Line : Wake-up call for Net users

The Internet, which was a boon and a boom for the e-commerce, is now posing a threat to many of the transactions that are taking place over the Net.

Pune , May 7

THREE basic and simple rules: do not operate your accounts from a cyber café, do not give out the password and do not give your phone numbers in the chat room. This is enough to curb the cyber crimes.

This is the underlying message that the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) and head of the cyber cell, Sanjay Jadhav, has for the public. At a function held by the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture, Jadhav noted that in most cases, especially where BPOs are concerned, what happens is that the customer is asked to type in the PIN number while the transaction number is flashed on the screen. When the fraud is to take place, the customer is told that the first two login attempts did not match and usually during the third attempt the customer gives the PIN number. The fraudsters immediately pick this up and the rest is history. The moral is "keep your lips sealed."

Jadhav pointed out that the Internet is a large and unprotected domain and most of the time, the servers are placed in the West and the people out there are also reluctant to help out with the investigations. He noted that the big brother US might be very concerned about its security and the paraphernalia, but the Koreans and the Chinese always beat them to the game. He says at least four of the five clients in the US get cheated by them.

Quoting an example of how frauds take place at the ATM centre, Jadhav said that there were many manufacturers making dummy slots. Usually, the fraudster goes into the ATM centre and puts in the dummy slot and walks out. The customers who walk in later find that their cards are not accepted.

Every time the card was swiped or put into the machine, the data on the magnetic tape behind is transferred into the dummy slot. Later at a convenient time, the fraudster comes back and picks up the dummy slotand gets access to all the accounts that have been made through the ATM. And, if the customer at any other centre forgets to sign out from the ATM, the account remains live for 30 seconds by which time anybody can get access to the accounts.

The Internet, which was a boon and a boom for the e-commerce, is now posing a threat to many of the transactions that are taking place over the net. Jadhav added that this was not meant to scare away the people from either using the Net or any other facilities, but it is essential to take a few precautionary measures so that everybody ends up being happy.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Straight arrow kills, bent lute but charms

The missing Buddhas

Wake-up call for Net users