The Reserve Bank of India or RBI, which is the Central Banking Institution of India, has discovered a new application that is wreaking havoc across India.
An urgent alert has been issued by the RBI IT and cybersecurity exam cell for all banks and all of India.
Reserve Bank of India Fraud Alert: AnyDesk Application
The RBI alert mentions a new application called “AnyDesk”.
This application works as an access service Remove and steal all information from users’ mobile. But the most important thing is that this application can read your OTP, which means you can delete any person’s bank accounts in seconds.
According to the notice issued by the apex bank, UPI users should pay special attention to the alert. But other forms of digital payments are also vulnerable.
Recently, Rs 6.8 lakhs were stolen through UPI from a person who did not even have a smartphone.
How does this Application Work?
The modus operandi is simple: by any means, the hacker / scammer will ask you to download the application called AnyDesk on your smartphone.
Once downloaded, hackers will access your mobile phone with a 9-digit code generated by the application.
Once this is done, the hacker takes over the SMS and data facilities of your smartphone, using the application.
RBI said: “Once a scammer inserts this application code into their device, they will ask the victim to grant certain permissions, which are similar to those required when using other applications.”
Therefore, every time an OTP is sent to the user, the hackers interrupt it and steal it. And once the OTP is compromised, your bank account can be emptied in an instant.
Hackers can use the UPI platform or any mobile wallet to divert funds.
According to some experts, this application fraud can trigger frauds of hundreds of millions of rupees in India, therefore, it is a severe warning for all.
How to Avoid this Fraud?
The only way to stop this fraud is to not download the AnyDesk application. IN load the application, then uninstall it immediately and perform a thorough security check of your mobile phone.
The RBI notice mentions the fact that, in addition to UPI, other forms of digital transactions can also be used for this fraud.
Last week, SBI had issued official guidelines on how to avoid and present a scam with the ATM card.