The Maharashtra Cyber Department on Tuesday issued an advisory on SMS forwarding applications, which synchronises SMS and notifications between multiple devices. Once installed, all sms and notifications received on victims' phones can be accessed by the cyber crook.
Explaining how the SMS forwarding applications works, the advisory states, "You will be asked to download the SMS forwarding application on phone. After installation, the application will automatically forward any SMS or notification received on your mobile phone."
"The scammers are using this application to get access to your OTPs and payment sensitive information. Without your knowledge, the money gets debited from your bank account by the scammers, once you install the SMS forwarding application on your mobile phone," the advisory states further.
Speaking about the precautionary measures that one should take to avoid falling prey to such cyber-frauds, the advisory states, "Never install any remote access application or SMS forwarding applications on the instructions of any unknown caller. Never click on any unknown links sent by SMS. Before engaging in a conversation with an unknown caller, verify the caller's identity."
"Remote access applications and SMS forwarding applications can cause a lot of monetary damage if installed on the phone. This gives easy and direct access of OTPs and notifications to the scammers, who then misuses the said bank account information of the victim to wipe out money from their bank accounts. One should be very careful and simply avoid clicking any suspicious links and should not entertain any suspicious calls. Always visit the bank or refer to the contact details from the bank's website for any query," said a Cyber-Crime police officer.
