Hackers are waiting, am I….

Today is the sixteenth lockdown in India due to COVID19 alert. I started morning late. Preparing to pay a visit to my daily emails with tea and today’s newspaper. I have received a call from an unknown caller (+917362951949). I want to disclose as detail as I can so you can aware how HE is prepared to extract details of financial transaction.

The unidentified caller introduced himself as a reputed employee from State Bank of India, Headquarter, Sammriddhi Bhawan, Kolkata. He confidently asked about my last ATM transaction date that I have performed recently. [The point of STRIKE starts here]

I refused to say the details even I replied prompt Bank advertises it does neither and never ask this ever. Therefore, why should I tell you?

The caller might be expecting this answer, he replied well – your ATM service will be blocked from this time and INR 9000 will be deducted from your account.

VERY SHOCKING REPLY

I took time with an excuse; WAIT…I have to find my ATM card to forward the details. As I am prepared to log in my emails, I promptly log in my SBI account. I searched my ATM CARD Details. EVERYTHING IS OK. Nothing is blocked there. I log off – log in again. Searched my ATM details again. There is neither any block warning nor any remarkable notification from my Bank. I recognized the caller is waiting in other side of this voice call. Now I started speaking –

I find everything is ok, how then you can say a Bank can do this.

Now he replied do you like to enjoy the service or I block this service with an official SMS from SBI Headquarter.

I definitely want to enjoy the service.

Now the man replied, then reply the date of expiry of your card.

As my assumption was not to disclose details as I remember Bank does never ever ask these details, still I need to know how far the unidentified caller knows about me. Therefore, I replied with correct expiry date.

Now it gets more interest – he asks is it master card or visa.

Master card

[More intense inquiry] Please tell me the LAST FOUR DIGIT of your card.

I refused to reply and disconnected.

At fraction of seconds I received a SMS where digitally generated and manipulated version of deduction of INR 9000 is mentioned. SHOCKING..[attached the picture ]

Still I try to find where the mismatch is. However, there are series of mismatch from the beginning.

A second voice call came from (+917679089588). Now the unidentified caller using Hindi language.

He enforced me that did you receive Bank SMS? I replied yes.

Did you perform any transaction – I say no..

Did you perform any transaction –  no…. [same question with same answer]

Did you perform any transaction – NO, I don’t perform a transaction. Listen man – if Bank do any step without my concern I shall go to Supreme Court against my Bank. And you should know that I am not a layman. I read your memory and shall never get convinced anything from anybody like you.

Who is going to convince you – You are the man who is trying to convince me that I made a transaction. I completely get your attention.

But your transaction is at risk – It is my problem, I shall deal with my transaction and my cash balance, why are you so interested on my transaction. Let me inform the Police against you- wait.

The voice call disconnected.

I have learned many things from the above today. As the assumption saturated my mind that Bank never ever asks details of transaction, ATM pin, account no etc. therefore, mind was prepared not to disclose anything to this unidentified caller. However, I need to observe how far he knows about me.

It is observed this type of caller does not wait to think. One needs to reply promptly. Therefore one needs to follow the path where HE is taking you away. The alert system of pre-assumption made a strong defense – not to disclose the Key in this issue. If I would have been either provided the last four digits of ATM card or ATM pin (what he didn’t get time to ask) – I would have lost everything. Kindly observe the picture attached herewith how carefully the digitally generated SMS has been created to extract details – (1) the SMS has forwarded from a private number not from Bank server; (2) SBI ATM SMS always contain invisible first five digits and visible last six digits – total eleven digit of account number – in this case only last four digits are four crosses; (3) amount INR 9000.00, date, time, ATM id is marked with hyperlink; (4) the SMS defines my account is nil after this transaction.

Figure 1

Figure 2

As technology find new way to secure transaction, hackers finds complicated path to distract an individual. I must conclude with the one that boundary line between me and the Crime is how far am I alert. If I am alert then I can dodge the crime. So be careful and alert always.