Rajasthan Police Issues Urgent Advisory on Mobile Phone Security
In a significant move to combat rising cybercrime, the Rajasthan Police on Friday issued a crucial public advisory, strongly warning citizens against the dangerous practice of handing over their mobile phones to strangers for making calls. The advisory emphasizes that such seemingly innocent acts can lead to devastating cyber fraud, putting personal and financial security at serious risk.
Official Directive from Cybercrime Branch
The advisory was formally issued by the state's cybercrime branch under the explicit directions of Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar Sharma. Deputy Inspector General (Cyber Crime) Shantanu Kumar Singh provided detailed insights, revealing that fraudsters are actively targeting unsuspecting individuals at high-traffic public locations. These include bus stands, railway stations, parks, and popular tourist spots, where criminals approach people with fabricated stories requiring urgent phone calls.
DIG Singh explained: "Within mere seconds of gaining physical access to a victim's phone, these criminals can execute sophisticated actions that may completely compromise bank accounts and sensitive personal data. The window for exploitation is alarmingly brief."
Deconstructing the Call-Forwarding Scam
Police officials highlighted one of the most prevalent and dangerous methods employed by these fraudsters: the call-forwarding scam. In this scheme, the criminal quickly dials a specific USSD code from the victim's unlocked device. This action secretly diverts all One-Time Passwords (OTPs) and call verifications to the fraudster's own phone number.
This unauthorized redirection enables immediate access to the victim's banking applications, messaging platforms, and social media accounts. With control over OTPs, criminals can bypass security measures, initiate unauthorized transactions, and hijack digital identities.
Beyond Call-Forwarding: Additional Threats
The advisory outlines even graver risks beyond call-forwarding. In some documented cases, fraudsters use the brief access to install malicious spyware or keylogger applications on the device. These programs operate stealthily in the background, monitoring all user activity.
- They can capture keystrokes to steal passwords and PINs.
- They may harvest financial information from banking apps.
- They can access and export private chat conversations.
- Criminals often misuse the victim's contact list to deceive relatives through impersonation, leading to extortion attempts.
Officials added a critical legal warning: if a mobile phone registered in your name is used for illegal activities, the legitimate owner may face significant complications and scrutiny during police investigations, even if they were an unwitting victim.
Essential Safety Guidelines from Police
The Rajasthan Police provided clear, actionable safety guidelines for the public:
- Avoid Handing Over Your Phone: Never give your unlocked mobile phone to a stranger. If someone genuinely needs to make a call, offer to dial the number yourself and use the speakerphone function while keeping the device in your possession.
- Check Call-Forwarding Status: Regularly verify if your number has been compromised. Dial *#21# to check the call-forwarding status. If forwarding is active without your knowledge, disable it immediately by dialing ##002#.
- Secure Payment Applications: Enable additional layers of authentication on all payment and banking apps. Use biometric locks (fingerprint or facial recognition) or strong, unique PINs that are not shared with other applications.
Reporting Mechanisms and Future Measures
Rajasthan Police urged citizens who suspect they have been targeted or have fallen victim to such fraud to report immediately. The designated channels are:
- The national cybercrime helpline: 1930.
- Official help desk numbers provided by local police stations.
- The official online cybercrime reporting portal.
Police officials confirmed that further public awareness campaigns and preventive measures are being planned to educate citizens about these evolving digital threats and strengthen the state's cybersecurity posture. This advisory marks a proactive step in protecting Rajasthan's residents from sophisticated social engineering attacks that exploit human kindness for criminal gain.
