Chinese Hackers are targeting SBI account holders, take these essential steps

If your bank account is in the State Bank of India, then Chinese hackers can harm you, and you are their target. Phishing attacks have increased rapidly in the past few months, and scammers are trying new ways to cheat account holders. A scam, especially involving the State Bank of India (SBI) customers, has now come to the fore, and hackers are trying to transfer money from their accounts.

How are Chinese hackers doing scams?

Reports have revealed that Chinese hackers target SBI customers with the help of a particular type of phishing scam. In this, the victim is asked to update her ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) details. In many cases, hackers are also sending messages to SBI customers about getting gifts on updating KYC details. Keep in mind, trusting any such message can make you a victim of fraud.

Delhi-based think-tank Cyberpeace Foundation and Autobot InfoSec have come together to find a new hacking threat. There are two ways in which hackers are targeting SBI customers. The first method is based on sending an SMS to the account holders and clicking on the link given in the message. At the same time, in another way, hackers are redirecting customers to a fake page by changing the URL of the bank’s official website.

The hackers first send a message to the victim asking her to do KYC verification. Tapping on the link provided with the message opens a page similar to the official SBI online website. After tapping on the ‘Continue to login’ button, the page that opens asks for entering the username, password and fill the captcha. Researchers said that after this, all the information entered can be easily stolen by hackers.

A ‘ One Time Password ‘ (OTP) is sent to the victim’s number before entering the requested information on the fake SBI page. In this way, the victim is assured that he is entering his information on the official website itself. The hackers ask for their name, mobile number, date of birth, and other personal details on the next page. After entering this data, the victim is again sent to an OTP page.

It is not that hackers are luring victims just by sending SMS. It has come to the fore that some hackers are also sending WhatsApp messages by luring gifts up to Rs 50 lakh. A link to a fake website accompanies such messages.

The research team said that hackers are claiming to be associated with the State Bank of India in the campaign run by hackers, but it is not. This entire campaign is hosted by a third-party domain and has no connection with the official website. Researchers have said that account holders of all banks need to be more cautious than before as slight negligence can be costly.