Be careful! Be warned that your BANK Account can be emptied without notice.

This SMS is circulating in WhatsApp in groups and to individuals as posted by a Cybersecurity Group.

Please share so that more people are saved from this SCAM! Many people have been affected.

This is how it operates: You get a call on your mobile asking if you have been vaccinated. If vaccinated, the caller will say, “Press 1”.

If not vaccinated, “Press 2”. Because the person who got the call was vaccinated, he pressed 1.

The phone was immediately blocked, and his online bank information/account was all transferred.

Please be on Alert and careful. Forward to more people to know about this new trick/scam. Forwarded as received.

Your BANK Account can be Empty without Notice.

This is a high-tech SCAM, and it is called SIM SWAP FRAUD. It is said that hundreds of people have been affected; they suddenly found that their bank accounts were EMPTY.

The following is the explanation of Cleafy.

A SIM Swap scam happens when criminals take control of a victim’s mobile phone number by transferring it to a new SIM card they possess 12345. The scam starts with cybercriminals stealing personal information on the targeted victim through phishing emails, social engineering activities, malware installed on the device, or social media profiles research1. The fraudster uses social engineering techniques to convince the telephone company to port the victim’s phone number to the fraudster’s SIM25. Here is a breakdown of what happens during a SIM swap scam5:

• The criminal contacts your mobile phone carrier and pretends to be you.
• The criminal will say that their phone and SIM card (your phone and SIM card) have been lost or destroyed and that your mobile phone number needs to be transferred to their new SIM card.
• The criminal receives your calls and text messages.
• Your phone is disconnected.

How does it work?

1. The new scam called SIM SWAP starts like this… Your phone network will suddenly go blank / Zero Signal / Zero Bar, and you will get a call after a while.
2. The caller will tell you that he is calling from your mobile phone company, depending on your network and that there is a problem in your mobile network.
3. He/she will instruct you to press 1 on your phone to regain the network. Please don’t press anything at this stage; hang up or END the call.

If you press 1, the network will appear suddenly and, in a moment, your mobile phone will go blank again (Zero Bar), and with that action, your phone is ALREADY HACKED

In a few seconds, they will empty your bank account, and you won’t receive any notification.. about it.

It will appear as if your line has been disconnected with no Network. Meanwhile, your SIM has been CHANGED.

The danger here is, that you won’t get any transaction alerts. Let’s be very careful.

Please send this information to your contacts, loved ones and friends. Fraud is increasing daily.

Former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani told the media that online scams were increasing.

According to the statistics collected from police reports, there were 20,701 scams in 2021, with a loss of RM560.8 million. Compared to 2019, there were only 13,703 scam cases, with a loss of RM539 million. The online scams include online trading, African scams, Macau scams, Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams, fake loans and SMS scams.

And in 2022, from January until July, there were already 12,092 scam reports with a loss of RM414.8 million. On the bright side, most scammers have been arrested. From 2019 until July 2022, 33,147 cybercrime suspects were caught, and 22,196 were brought to court.

This article was written by M. Krishnamoorthy and first appeared on Newswav. Photo used in this post credit to SNBonline.