Nowadays, there has been a rising trend of cyber frauds bothering electricity consumers in the past few months. Criminals use elaborate processes to trick people into sharing their personal and financial details with fraudsters.
Step-by-Step breakdown of how these scams typically unfold:
This deludes victims into believing that they have to reply by SMS or email or take a phone call in regard to overdue electricity bills. Such messages are very convincing and resemble official letters and e-mails with logos and the use of such words as “cut off the electricity services.”
Building Trust:
To make the victims believe that the messages received are legitimate, scammers build on the principles of threats:
- Fear of Consequences: The messages usually have threatening statements that are likely to catch victim’s attention, such as warning of “immediate disconnecting of electricity.”
- Urgency and Authenticity: Official logos, as well as the use of the word ‘urgent’ are used to win the trust of the victim and lure him/her into believing that the received message is authentic and has to be checked immediately.
Deceptive Tactics:
In the later stages, the victim is persuaded to act urgently, and at this time scammers use any of the following tricks:
- Malicious Links: In this method, victims are made to click a link shared by fraudster which takes victim to websites which are laden with malware. Such sites can compromise the victim’s device by infecting it with malware and compromising sensitive, personal and financial details.
- Fake Payment Portals: Cybercriminals leave links to the fake websites that are similar to service payment sites or bank interfaces. This makes the victims to input their financial details to transfer funds to fraud’s account.
- APK Installation: Messages in the form of a link, shared via applications such as WhatsApp or Telegram, then victim is made to download and install an application (an APK file). These apps can compromise handset/device messages which contain OTP or other sensitive banking information to enable scamsters to have access to banking accounts of victim’s.
Consequences and Impact:
The consequences for the victim can be far reaching:
- Financial Loss: Direct transfer of funds to scammers through fake payment portals.
- Data Breach: Exposure of personal and financial information makes the users more exposed to cases of identity theft as well as other related frauds.
- Device Compromise: Viruses and Trojans threaten to reduce device security and subsequently the ultimate control over one’s personal information.
How to Avoid Falling Victim to Cyber Fraud
To steer clear of cyber fraud targeting electricity consumers around you, follow these practical steps to protect yourself:
Verify Communications:
- Electricity bill scams are prevalent; thus, people are advised to exercise caution when receiving any messages that demand overdue electricity bills. Contact the electricity provider using official contact information from other sources other than the phone number provided over message or call.
Beware of Urgency Tactics:
- Some unscrupulous people try to use threats, for example, stating that the subscriber’s connection will be terminated immediately. Do not panic and run, and confirm whether the situation is genuine or not.
Avoid Clicking Suspicious Links:
- Do not click on links in the messages or emails that are received from unknown people. Such links may redirect to the phishing sites which aim at obtaining your personal details or just to infect your device with the virus.
Use Official Payment Portals:
- Do not use any other payment method other than the one recommended by your electricity provider. Double-check the website URL starts with “https://” when entering your data to make sure that your data is encrypted. Also check for simple spelling mistakes or any extra character in the domain.
Be Cautious with Applications (.APK Files):
- Avoid downloading or installing applications (APK files) from the links received through the messaging apps like WhatsApp or Telegram. These could potentially harm your device and personal information that you store on it.
Educate Yourself:
- Learn the general tricks used by scammers and be careful while dealing with monetary operations on the Internet.
Thus, by following these measures and being cautious, you can minimize the chances of being scammed into paying fake electricity bills.