“Dear CUSTOMAR, your electricity power will be disconnected to night at 9.30 pm from electricity office because your previous month bill was not updated. Please immediately contact with our electricity officer 9693325442 Thank you.” (sic)
This has become a familiar message in Bengaluru over the last few months. Many gullible Bescom customers have become victims of phishing attacks. Wg. Cdr. Kurian Cherian (Retd) learnt it the hard way after losing money to such an attack, despite not sharing the OTP with the caller. Another customer, Chowda Reddy, faced the wrath of the fraudster for not falling prey — the fraudster hacked into his phone and posted lewd messages on WhatsApp groups Mr. Reddy was a member of.
After hundreds of such cases were registered with the cybercrime police in Bengaluru, the city police and Bescom have launched awareness campaigns. However, not a single case has been cracked and the sleuths seem to be groping in the dark, at least as yet.
