A resident of Chandigarh was cheated of Rs 4.34 lakh minutes after he clicked a web link shared on his cell phone to update Know Your Customer (KYC) details pertaining to his savings account in State Bank of India (SBI).

It is said that a total of Rs 4,34,700 was transferred from the victim’s account in two different accounts in three installments. The web link was shared from a mobile number which was later found registered to a fake identity, who introduced himself as a representative of SBI to the victim.

In the past week too, a UT resident was cheated under the pretext of changing his KYC details for SBI. The UT cyber cell has been investigating at least nine other cases in which people were cheated as they clicked web links sent to them for updating their KYC and other particulars.

Cheating through sharing web links has emerged as one of the most adopted mechanisms by cyber criminals, during a two-month long survey conducted by cyber interns attached with UT Cyber Crime Investigation Cell (CCIC).

A senior cyber cell officer said, “In most of these cases, we have concluded that the shared web link is of Any Desk app, which enables another person to access/regulate the mobile phone of the victims. As the victims opened the web link, fraudsters managed to access/see their confidential details, OTPs, passwords, etc., on their screens. We have been urging people to not entertain any shared web links on their phones and trust anyone who calls and asks them to do something to merely update particulars related to their bank accounts.”