A picture on WhatsApp, as soon as clicked, millions of rupees flew away from the account, a new way of cyber fraud

New Delhi/Devesh Jaiswal. In the digital age, where technology is making our lives easier, cyber criminals are also making people their victims in new ways. Recently, a shocking incident has come to light in Jabalpur, in which a simple photo sent to a person on WhatsApp put a hit of 2 lakh 1 thousand rupees. In this fraud, criminals used a technique called Steganography, which not only surprised the victim, but also highlighted the need for awareness among people towards cyber security.

What happened in the incident?
On March 28, Pradeep Jain, who lives in the Kotwali area of ​​Jabalpur, was at his house, when he received a call from an unknown number (9827832213) at 9 am. The caller sent a photo of an elderly person on WhatsApp and asked, “Do you know this man?” Pradeep first ignored this message, but when the call came from the same number again, he angrily replied that he did not know the person and cut the call. After this, the call came again at 1:35 pm and Pradeep was instigated to click on the photo. Curious Pradeep clicked on the photo, after which his phone was hacked.

In a short time, 2 lakh 1 thousand rupees disappeared from Pradeep’s bank account. The thugs withdrew money from their account from an ATM in Hyderabad. When Canara Bank called to verify the transaction, the thugs replied to the call by copying Pradeep’s voice and assured the bank that this transaction is valid.

How is the use of stegonography technology cheated
Earlier, thugs used to cheat through OTP and fishing links. When people became cautious with them, now they are resorting to the technique of Stegonography. It contains a hidden link in a simple looking photo, which automatically downloads an app. This app gives the thugs full access to the mobile, so that they steal money from the bank account.