The number of people cheated by false messages is no less these days. And as a result, money disappears from bank accounts, leaking personal information – this sort of thing happens all the time now. Recently, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has issued a public advisory warning the public about such a serious message. The fake message states that the government is offering a free 3-month recharge scheme to 100 million users for online education. The message also mentions the name of a website, which is probably a phishing website.
“We have seen that some people are spreading fake messages on social media platforms with deceptive intent,” COAI Director General in Public Advisory Dr. SP Kochhar (Lieutenant General) said. The message falsely claims that the government has promised a free recharge scheme for online education to 100 million users. It is encouraging people to click on a link to get free offers. We want to warn people about this scam. If you receive this type of message, do not click on the link, as it can lead to other serious consequences including data theft from a mobile device. We can prevent such messages from being carried forward, only by deleting them, and others from being deceived.
In this context, if you get a job offer or plan on WhatsApp, don’t believe it. Recently, a message was circulated on WhatsApp asking users to earn up to Rs 5,000 per day after enrollment in a training program. There is also a link in the message which, when activated, may cause you to lose personal information, including money and bank account details.
Currently, thousands of such fake messages are circulating online. The messages usually begin with how the recent epidemic has affected normal life and millions of people have lost their jobs as a result. Such fake messages include words like ‘You are lucky’ (‘You are lucky’) and ‘Make money in the fastest way’ (‘Make more money in less time’), which instills confidence in the minds of common people. And encourage them to click on the mention phishing link.
