Two recent cases of fraud in Lucknow have reiterated how risky it can be for users to trust contact numbers found randomly on search engines. In the first case, one Bhagwandin lost Rs 71,755 to fraud when he was trying to book an appointment with a doctor based out of Lucknow's Indira Nagar, after getting the contact number from a search engine.

In a similar case, Ashok Kumar Bansal, a resident of Lucknow's Aminabad was duped of Rs 64,110 while ordering from a sweet house in the city. In both cases, the victims were asked to give their bank details and register for a QuickSupport app to make an initial payment of just Rs 10.

Upon reaching the hospital (Bhagwandin) and the sweet house (Ashok Kumar Bansal), the victims realized that the numbers they interacted with were fake and they've been duped out of thousands. FIRs have been registered in both cases and the authorities have sought assistance from the cyber cell for a probe.

According to a May 2022 government cybercrime data, out of the thousands of digital fraud cases reported in India, 50% are UPI related. Just like in the cases above, users are asked for bank details or to register for a QuickSupport app and end up giving all the permissions to the app, in a hurry to register quickly and complete the transaction. The app in question lets a user remotely operate your device.

Commenting further on the nature of such fraud, the Superintendent of Police, Cyber cell, Triveni Singh went on to add that "[various app] permissions include access to all other apps, gallery, and contact lists. With this permission, miscreants take remote access to the phone. When any electronic device is on remote access, the person who has taken the remote access can clearly see all the activity on the device."

Furthermore, as the victim enters details to register for such apps, the miscreant who now has remote access to the device gets to know the details, including the PIN number, which he later uses to dupe the victim of huge amounts of money.

In view of these recent cases, it has become even more important for users to beware of the validity of contact numbers they find on search engines and must strictly avoid registering for any new app or giving away their account details over the phone.