Kannur: Even as authorities repeatedly warn against the sharing of personal and banking details, people continue to fall prey to cyber crimes. In a latest incident, a 56-year-old man from Pariyaram in Kannur was defrauded of Rs 25,000 by online fraudsters who posed as customer care executive of his bank.

The Pariyaram Police has registered a case based on the man's complaint.

According to the complaint, the man lost money after responding to an SMS that urged him to update his KYC (Know Your Customer) details. The SMS allegedly said failing to do so will result in his bank account getting closed.

As he was aware of the importance of KYC updation, the man dialed the phone number from the SMS and shared his bank details, including the account number, the IFSC of the branch, the 16-digit debit card number, the card verification value (CVV) and the ATM PIN.

Later, he got an SMS about Rs 25,000 debited from his account, the complainant told the police.

Half-a-dozen such cases in a week
According to police, around half-a-dozen cases of online fraud have been registered at the station in a week. In most of the cases, cybercriminals used the same modus operandi to steal lakhs from various individual accounts.

Kannur Cyber Crime Police station Inspector Sanil Kumar said tricking people over KYC updation was one the latest tricks ued by the fraudsters. He says, a fraudster will ask people for crucial information like Aadhaar, bank account details, OTP while they act as an officer of bank.

The police officer said the best way to avoid such online trap is to keep vigil on cyber spaces, avoid unsolicited calls and emails or messages.

In some cases, the fraudsters ask people to download the Team Viewer app, which allegedly gives them access and control over a customer's phone. By using this, the scammers can trace the banking details from the customer's phone, said the police officer.

“There are many instances of retrieving the money lost to online fraudsters by the police. Hence, people should be ready to inform the police immediately in case they lose money through cyber fraud. Any delay in registering a case would make the retrieval efforts more complicated,” said Sanil Kumar.