Beware of This FREE Diwali gifts scam! Do THIS to protect yourself

Diwali preparations are in full swing and and people are exchanging gifts with relatives, friends colleagues and more. This heightened activity has also attracted scamsters and they are stealing users passwords through the new Diwali gifts scam. In fact, hackers use of every single opportunity to steal money out of your bank. One of the incidents has been reported by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), which says that if you have received any links on social media claiming to offer you free Diwali gifts, then there is a high possibility that it is a trick to steal your personal information and passwords. CERT-In confirms that hackers targeted users with such malicious links that will lead them to some Chinese Websites to extract important information including banking details, ultimately to steal money.

If you are using WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram or any other social media app, then you must be more careful! CERT-In advisory says in a report, “Fake messages are in circulation on various social media platforms (WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram etc) that falsely claim a festive offer luring users into gift links and prizes. The threat actor campaign is mostly targeting women and asks to share the link among peers on WhatsApp/Telegram/Instagram accounts.” It further informs that most of these dangerous websites use Chinese .cn domain extensions, or, some other extensions such as .xyz and .top.

It is a step-by-step process that makes you fall for the scam. Users will receive a message along with a link, which has been asked to further share with friends and family. Unluckily, if a user clicks on the link, they end up greeted with a “Congratulations” message, followed by a questionnaire to fill. Malicious websites ask users to fill in details in order to claim the prize.

How to avoid online scam

• In order to avoid falling for such scams, the first and most important thing is to never click on links that you don’t trust. If you are in doubt, then you should double-check if the website or the link is correct and not a fake/duplicate one.
• You should note that a real organisation or company will never ask for your login details.
• Never disclose personal information or online banking credentials via e-mail or text message as these can be used for identity theft.
• It is advised to set transfer limits for UPI and other transactions through your bank as such attacks usually involve fraudulent financial transactions.