OTP Scam: New Digital Threat Reported

The IT capital of the country – Bengaluru is witnessing a new type of digital exposure of threat. A recent OTP theft scam in Bengaluru has been reported and creating a large size chaos. Lakhs of rupees have already been stolen and there is no single culprit has been apprehended yet. Victims are conned by fake calls and by giving away all their card details and OTPs to the hacker (Who claims to be a bank employee). However, the question is how can we avoid such scams?  Who's at the fault? Is OTP really not safe? and what are the preventive measures to be taken?

OTP or one-time password was introduced as an added layer of security for banking transactions and also for website logins. However, if you think it is a safe bet to protect yourself from scams, you need to think again. Now, there’s a new type of OTP theft scam that has been worrying the citizens in Bengaluru. While lakhs of rupees have already been stolen using this method, the worst part of the scam is that fraudsters are slipping away without getting caught.

According to a report on ET, IT employees in Bengaluru have been the victim of this scam. Cyber-crime police have managed to figure out how the scammers operate. In most cases with OTP thefts, victims were either conned into giving away their OTP, or some sort of malware app was used to gain system access, and read SMSes. Scammers first access OTPs on victim’s smartphone, and then use them to transfer money from their account.

Mr. Rajdipkumar Gupta, MD and Group CEO at Route Mobile Limited, commenting on the OTP Scam said, "OTP or one-time password was introduced as an added layer of security solution that ensures safe and secure login and transaction process. OTP is still safe, however, it is our responsibility to take the security and privacy seriously and to protect our important data like OTP, Banking or Card details and strictly refrain from sharing it with anyone. I think awareness is a key, as people can only fight back smartly when they are well aware of all kind of cyber threats or cybercrime. The only way to avoid being a victim of any such scams is to ensure that you do not click on any suspicious links and do not share OTPs or any related information with any unauthorized0 callers."