People cautioned on phishing in garb of ‘Operation Sindoor’ news
The Himachal Police have alerted people of phishing accounts originating from Pakistan posing as news on ‘Operation Sindoor’ following the Pahalgam terror attack.
As per the police, these malicious accounts are in the form of emails, attachments such as deceptive images, videos, links .exe/.apk files news regarding the India-Pakistan conflict, which could potentially target people for their sensitive data such as personal information, financial and banking details and any other sensitive information.
Cybercriminals are deceiving people on the pretext of exclusive and latest news, leaked images and videos relating to the conflict. These links are being shared on social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, etc., that are designed to steal personal and financial information. To lure people, cybercriminals embed phishing links in messages that appear to be from trusted sources, thus tricking people into visiting fake websites that mimic legitimate news or government platforms.
DIG (CID Cyber Crime) Mohit Chawla said that there had been a surge in cyber attacks from Pakistan. He added that such attackers were using sophisticated tactics to gain access to sensitive information of people as well as government agencies.
He appealed to people to be aware and not to respond to suspicious numbers as well as suspicious links. He also appealed to them to immediately report any instance of cybercrime on the toll free number 1930.
The police stated that Indian WhatsApp No. 7340921702 was being used by Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIO), pretending as Indian defence officials, to call journalists and civilians to acquire information on the ongoing situation while ‘Operation Sindoor’ was in progress. They appealed to people to be aware and not to fall to such attempts.
