Guaranteeing A Friend's Loan? Think Twice!

Nowadays credit score has become a critical factor while availing loans and credit cards from banks and financial institutions.

Individuals having low credit score face can face problems at the time of getting bank's approval after applying for any kind of loan.

Having poor credit health can prompt the lender to reject your loan application or to charge you with higher interest rate.

Banks and financial institutions do not solely depend on the financial status of the primary borrower and this is when a guarantor comes into picture.

A guarantor is a person who guarantees to pay for the debt, if the primary borrower defaults on the loan obligation.

A guarantor acts as a co-signer of sorts, in that he can pledge his own assets or services if incase the principal borrower cannot perform his/her obligation.

Take, for example, the case of Harish, a 27 year old youth from Delhi earning decent salary.

He wanted to buy a house for his parents. And he was confident that his home loan application will be approved by the bank. But he was shocked to learn that the bank had denied his application.

The reason for this rejection was that he had signed as a guarantor for one of his friends who had defaulted on loan repayment, and this in turn lowered his credit score.

Individuals should be careful while signing as a guarantor for a loan taken by other person, as it can have negative effect on his/her credit health.

If the primary borrower repays the loan provided by the banks and financial institutions properly, the guarantor will be benefited from it as it will reflect in his credit report.

On the other hand, if the primary borrower defaults on the loan, then it will affect the credit score of the individual. Not only this, the guarantor will be liable to pay on behalf of the primary borrower.

An Individual should become guarantor for a loan of his relative or friend, only if he is confident of the former’s financial situation.

Individuals should know that becoming a guarantor can affect his credit score negatively too. He can also face problems while applying for loans and credit cards. This exactly what happened with Harish.

Hence, one should be extremely careful while guaranteeing a friend's loan.

There are some cases where a guarantor has been penalised when the primary borrower failed to perform his duties.

Even if the guarantor has a good repayment track, the defaults made by the primary borrower can affect the creditworthiness of the guarantor.

Before helping your friend or relative in getting a loan you should be doubly sure about the pros and cons associated with the financial backing of the primary borrower.

Visit us for any of your financial worries. CIBIL Consultants- Doctors for all your financial worries.
Source: Secondary

Be Smarter Than Technology, If Want to Defeat Cyber Crime

Information Technology(IT) is the driving force of almost all industry. Global markets and business are dependent on this huge and vast world of unseen intelligent radio waves which is practically running our lives today.

Think about those times when there was hardly anything called the internet, networking, mobile, Wi-Fi, GPS, GPRS, Cloud etc a whole new world around us so called virtual real world, in a nutshell IT has given a all new meaning to this global civilization.

Today no more distances matters neither time, with the ever growing technology the focus is getting sharper and clearer, we are one world, every one of us is under one roof, we are connected now.

Discovery of any new earth shattering innovations brings certain disturbances too. We the intelligent minds who thrive and drive our lives today primarily on technology are we safe enough? Do we really always thank this unseen intelligent friend or sometimes this friend gives us real problems?

Yes it does, with the ever increasing tools of communication we get more and more vulnerable to access, today saying hi to someone at north pole is as simple as knocking your next door neighbor. World today is enjoying the advancement of IT but along with that is also facing a battle against piracy and duplicity or rather cyber crime.

Countries across the world are setting up cyber laws to check crime but how effective are these laws are? Or is the thief smarter than the law?

We need to realize and counter this new wave of crime through the unseen radio waves, with the ever growing technology we are doomed to face new challenges but to balance a smart technology you have to be smarter.

Crime Files brings to light the growing online lottery frauds which is getting visible day by day with increase in cases registered. On a normal mail box you will find thousand of offers including strange messages. 

This same format is also used via mobile SMSs Such messages might not work or may not be able to fool people at large but, yes still there are people from small town who get trapped in this net or racket of cheaters and land up paying money in the name of huge gift.
To learn about identity theft, visit www.cibilconsultants.com

Source: Secondary

Study shows, Cybercrime is the Part of Sophisticated Online Economy

The dark world of cyber crime has evolved from one of rogue individuals to a functioning market-based economy with its ups and downs, code of conduct and "innovation."

A study by Rand Corp. and commissioned by the security firm Juniper Networks found a well-organised, multibillion-dollar underground economy that has become "a playground of financially driven, highly organized and sophisticated groups."

The evolution of cyber crime creates new challenges for security professionals trying to protect computer networks, says Nawaf Bitar, Juniper's general manager for security.

"We have long suspected that cyber criminals were sophisticated and that they had an organizational structure, but no one had studied this,"

"The success of this market is driven by accelerated economics, and the way to address this is through economics."

The report says the black markets "are growing in size and complexity" and that this activity "mirrors the normal evolution of a free market, with both innovation and growth."

Juniper's security vice president said this cyber underground has all the characteristics of an economy, including its own currencies -- chiefly cryptography payment forms such as Bitcoin.

She said the underground economy is characterized by specialization and "resilience," so that if one market participant leaves, another steps up.

"We saw this when (the black market bazaar) Silk Road went down, and within a day other participants started filling that gap," Callahan said.

"It's one of those signs this is a mature economy."
To learn about Identity Theft, visit, www.cibilconsultants.com

Source: Secondary

To fulfill your dreams, don't ignore your credit health

Can you imagine how credit score and credit history can obstruct in fulfilling your dreams!! 

Nowadays credit score and credit health are gaining importance. These things are analysed by Banks, Financial institutions, Insurance companies, Telecom companies and even by Employers. People with low credit score and bad credit health face a lot of difficulties in getting finance from the market.

As the rising importance of credit score and health, every individual have to mark these things important in their personal finance and keep themselves updated; otherwise they could face difficulty as faced by Mr. Manish Kumar.

Mr. Manish, a middle class businessman was happy with his life. He was very good in his work which inspired him to expand his business which could change his life in the future. His dream was to have a respected name in the market. He did not want to be a billionaire, but just wanted a good name in the market.

He did not have sufficient funds which he could invest to expand his business. After all his thoughts, he finally decided to apply for loan for bank. He was confident that his loan will be accepted. 

One day while he was working in his office, he received a call from the bank which informed him that his loan was rejected. He was shocked to hear this news. He was totally depressed. He asked his agent (advisor) the reason for rejection, which informed him that his loan was rejected due to his bad credit health.

Manish was unaware about the term “credit health”. He was also unaware that bad credit health could affect in his loan approval. He also came to know that his credit score was low i.e 550 as he had defaulted payment in the past. He never knew that defaulting on payment could raise this impact on his report and reduce down his credit score.

Where credit score is a three digit number which ranges from 0-999 for all the bureaus. It is calculated by credit bureaus. The three major bureaus in India are CIBIL, Equifax and Experian. These bureaus collect data from all the banks and financial institutions in the country. Generally a score of 750 and above is considered to be a good.

Individuals with score lower than 750 will find it very difficult to avail loans and credit cards from banks and financial institutions. 

Maintaining a good credit health and credit score is nowadays essential for individuals, if not taken proper care will result in rejection of loans and credit cards or will have to pay high interest on the same. 

Many people like Manish are unaware about their credit health. Nowadays credit health is considered to be important part of personal finance of every individual. Credit health is considered equally important to your physical health, so people should be credit healthy because “Credit health is real Wealth”.
Source: Secondary

Someone Stole you?

As the cyber world unveils websites that let you live a ‘second life’, fake identities and identity thefts are fast emerging a menace giving spurt to hate mails and even serious crimes.

Identity theft remains unrecognized by many Indians, but many may already be becoming targets even without realizing it, experts say.

One of the fastest growing crimes in the developed nations like United States, it is spreading in developing economies too. According to a website that monitors cyber crimes, in 2006, identity theft complaints made up 37 per cent of all fraud complaints.

With extensive use of social networking sites in India, the young population chatting for hours, however, is unaware of the risks involved. Sharing personal information on social networking sites like Orkut, Tagged, hi5, etc. can be hazardous. The delinquents will have no difficulty in using someone's personal information for their vested interest, cyber experts say.

There has been number of cases reported in the country where the people were cheated after sharing their personal information on Internet. Latest among them is one of a youth from Mumbai who was murdered, after pals on the net abducted and then killed him, having won his confidence through the network chatting.

“People discuss sex, try to find a dating partner or indulge in ‘cyber romance’, falling prey to social networking sites. As a result, most of them undergo emotional abuses and have long lasting psychological effects. At least ten victims visits my clinic everyday seeking counselling on 'abuses' they had experienced on vast net-world,” says Dr Roma Kumar, Clinical Psychologist with Sri Ganga Ram Hospital.

“Youngsters, mostly school goers are unaware of the risk involved in sharing personal details on Internet. Some do it for fun rest to explore answers to their queries. But most of them later suffer owing to ignorance and lack of information,” she says.

“We receive 10-20 cases of identity thefts mainly on cyber frauds monthly. The cases of cyber-crimes are increasing in the country,” says Sanjay Singh, CEO of Indian Detective Agency.

“We get number of inquiries asking us for the tips to protect against identity theft,” he adds. “Once I got a call from a person asking me about legal proceedings pertinent to cyber crimes. He was actually duped by an imposter who posed herself as a Bollywood actress and asked him some money citing personal reasons and said that she (imposter) would marry him, if he agrees to pay the asked amount. That person got carried away and deposited money in the bank account given to him. Later, as obvious, it was found to be a cyber fraud and he was robbed off with his money,” says G Venkatesh Rao, a Supreme Court lawyer.

“People should be careful while using networking sites. They should avoid using very personal information like mobile number, credit card and bank account detail, date of birth to avoid identity theft,” says Rao.

“All laws related to cyber crimes including those of identity thefts by means of transactions carried out by electronic data interchange and other means of electronic communication are contained in Information Technology Act, 2000,” he says.

“Though, harsh punishment to offenders, Protection through Internet Service Providers and generating awareness among masses can be a better solution. But personal awareness and following net-etiquette will be a permanent remedy to it,” Rao adds.

There have been many incidents of identity thefts including those of ‘Phishing’ (hoax mails) but most of them go unreported as people either do not take it seriously or are simply ignorant of the possible damage, say experts.

“I was quite disturbed after receiving credit-card bill, issued in my name and address, of more than Rs15,000. What was more surprising is that I didn't have any credit card at all. It was just a month after I applied for one with the bank,” says Vindhyachal Pandey, an executive with a telecom firm.

“Although in the year 2006 only, a total of 335 phishing incidents were reported by various National and International agencies, on an average 28 incidents in a month. There was progressive increase of phishing incidence noticed in the second half of the year," says Anirban Sen Gupta, Principal

Consultant with a consulting firm with worldwide presence.

“On contacting bank for further information I was told that the credit card in my name was issued five days after submission of my application and the concerned courier service had my acknowledgement proving delivery of the card. I was helpless and decided to take help of a detective agency to probe in to the matter,” says Pandey.

There are many like Vindhyachal who are approaching detective agencies to investigate identity thefts. Experts categorise Identity theft into four - Identity Cloning (using another's information to assume his or her identity in daily life), Business/Commercial Identity Theft (using another's business name to obtain credit), Financial Identity Theft (misusing another's name) and Criminal Identity Theft (posing as another when apprehended for a crime).

Many leading companies being required to pay hefty compensation to the victims whose personal information has been stolen by hackers. Even companies incur great loss due to these identity hackers as they damage websites after cloning it and then by making unauthorised changes.

According to Gartner Survey, the financial losses from phishing attacks stood around USD 2.8 Billion in the year 2006. “The most widespread phishing attacks reported were carried out against e-commerce sectors which include online retailers and auction sites. The second most targeted sector was banks including financial institutes that accounted for 24 per cent of the total number of incidents reported in 2006,” says Anirban.
To learn about Identity Theft, visit, www.cibilconsultants.com
Source: Secondary

Cyber Crime Cell Deactivates nearly 100 Social Media Accounts

Nearly 99 complaints of misusing a social networking website, Facebook (FB), were received by the state cyber crime cell in the past one year, of which 84 accounts were deactivated by the cell.

It was stated by the crime investigation department (CID) inspector general Satwant Atwal Trivedi in a statement issued here on Tuesday.

In a survey conducted by the state CID wing, it was revealed that cyber crime cell, which was set up to provide technical assistance to all police stations, received 99 complaints regarding fake and hacked Facebook profiles.

From March 2013 to March 2014, the cell received 280 complaints relating to various types of cyber-crimes such as debit or credit cards frauds, online lottery scams and abuse by social media.

Trivedi said there were some cases where fraudsters used to pose themselves as debit or credit card company representatives and called people asking the details of cards. Most of the time, in such cases cards were used in online shopping, mobile recharge and online bill payments. 

She added, “There were cases of hacking and fake accounts on social networking site. In such cases precaution should be taken on part of the account users and if something doubtful is found they should inform the cyber crime cell.”

To learn about identity theft, visit www.cibilconsultants.com
Source: Secondary

Pointers On Things To Look Out For Before Applying for Car Loan

Car loans can be deceptive. It may seem like you’re easing the burden by paying in small chunks, but you could end up paying a lot more. We give you pointers on things to look out for before applying.

Buying a car on a finance scheme gives buyers the liberty of not having to invest a large chunk of their savings in a single investment. What’s more, finance schemes are available on almost every car on sale here. 

Finance companies offer loans of up to 90% of the car’s value, or in some cases, even the entire amount, depending on the repayment scheme and the model of the car. Our advice would be to pay as much as possible in terms of downpayment, so that the amount you return over the years (with interest) is minimised. A downpayment is the initial payment made when the car is financed, whereas the remaining amount is paid in small chunks, called instalments, over a period of time.

A car loan is, however, a double-edged sword. For starters, while it does allow you the flexibility of paying the overall amount over a certain period of time, one must keep in mind that you will have to pay back much more to the bank. As an example, on a loan of R6 lakh at an 11% rate of interest, you will have to pay back approximately R36,000 for every lakh borrowed over a three-year scheme or R60,000 over a five-year scheme.

It’s also worth noting that some loans will be offered on the ex-showroom price of the car. It’s easier on your pocket if you negotiated with the bank and got the loan based on the on-road price, as the loan will cover registration charges, insurance, road tax, and a few other costs. Also, some banks may have a really large processing fee, but if your credit history is clean, it’s very likely that you’ll get a waiver on your processing fees.

Listed below are the various parameters you should be aware of before applying for a car loan.

Eligibility & credit history

Banks set some criteria that need to be fulfilled by the loan applicant before a loan is granted. The bank verifies your income statements for a certain duration before deciding on the loan amount they deem fit to fund. They also go through CIBIL (Credit Information Bureau India Limited), which maintains records of your loans and credit card transactions that are submitted to the bureau every month by banks and credit card companies. Based on these records, they generate a CIR (Credit Information Report) via which a credit score is generated. 

Generally, a credit score of more than 700 is considered good, and makes a strong case for getting the car loan sanctioned.

Rate of interest

One of the most important factors to consider before applying for a car loan from a particular bank is the rate of interest, as it can decide your instalment amount and the total amount you will be paying above your borrowed sum at the end of the loan tenure. Interest rate charges differ according to the duration of the loan and the type of interest scheme chosen. This can be classified into two types—fixed and floating. Fixed interest rates remain constant during the tenure of the loan, whereas a floating interest rate changes according to the trends in the market. To play it safe, opt for a fixed interest rate loan.

Public sector banks generally offer lower rates of interest to the tune of 10.1-12%, with loan tenures of seven years maximum. On the other hand, private banks offer loans at a higher rate of interest of around 12.5-15%, with the advantage of having less documentation required and better service quality. Most of the loans offered nowadays are of the reducing balance type. In this scheme, as you pay the EMIs, your principal amount decreases and interest is levied on the remaining reduced amount and not the entire principal sum.

It’s also worth noting that having a long-standing relationship with a particular bank can get you good offers. Car loans are also customised according to car models; popular ones generally get the best loan offers as compared to slow selling models. Get all the options on the table before selecting the right one that meets your requirements and expectations.

Package deals

A convenient option is to take a car loan from the purchased car’s dealer as they have bank representatives or tie-ups with banks to offer lucrative deals as part of a package that includes loans, insurance waivers/discounts and car accessories. Dealers earn a commission on the items they sell, but sometimes, a little higher interest rate or insurance package maybe negated by the accessories offered free with the car. It’s better to evaluate the options from the dealer’s side, as well as directly from the bank or insurance company to ascertain the best deal before taking the plunge.

Avoid penalties

An important factor to consider when choosing a bank loan is foreclosure, which, simply put, is the closing of a loan earlier than agreed by paying off the remaining debt. On a recent ruling by the Reserve Bank of India, a verdict was passed wherein prepayment (making a payment that’s more than your regular EMI, hence reducing the principal amount that has to be paid back) penalties for loans that have been purchased on a floating rate of interest will be waived. If a foreclosure of the loan is on the cards, be prepared for high foreclosure. A penalty for the same is waived if the next loan is purchased from the same bank after the closure of the earlier one. Some banks also do not allow you to foreclose before a certain period.

Other charges

Bank loans come with other charges like processing fees and late payment fees. Some banks charge a flat processing fee while others charge a percentage of your loan amount as processing fees. A late payment charge, generally to the tune of 2%, is also levied on the EMIs. These charges, although minor in number, should be evaluated as part of the decision making process. As an example, on an EMI of R10,000, and with a 2% penalty fee charged, your overall EMI for that particular month would be R10,200.

It’s clear that there’s a fair amount you should be aware of before considering a car loan. Different banks offer varying loan rates in an attempt to lure customers, so it’s important to consider these aspects before zeroing in on a finance scheme.

It’s important to remember that CIBIL maintains records of your credit history, based on which a credit score is generated. This will determine how credit-worthy you are, and the better the score, the better your chances are of getting a loan amount required by you approved.

What’s more, a long-standing relationship with a bank can also go a long way in helping you get a finance scheme that suits your needs the best, with little documentation required.

Source: Secondary

Oh Phish! Many Biting The Bait

About 20% Indians claim to be victims of phishing attacks, according to Microsoft Computing Safer Index, a study that reveals impact of poor online safety behaviour.

Released on account of the Safer Internet Day, on February 11, the study claims that 12% of Indians surveyed say they have suffered identity theft at an average cost of Rs 7,500.

The survey was carried out among 10,500 consumers globally in the March-May 2013 period. It asked consumers to share their online experiences.

According to the survey, the annual worldwide impact of phishing and other forms of identity theft could be as high as $5 billion, while the cost of repairing damage to people’s online reputation was at nearly $6 billion.

The internet touches our daily lives for almost everything, from communicating, to work, to shopping to paying bills, says Prakash Kumar, national technology office, Microsoft India.

“But how cautious are we about monitoring our online presence, and taking note of our own vulnerabilities? There are many things that can be done to stay safer online,” says Kumar.

Microsoft asks netizens to protect their online activities by visiting websites that provide a range of hints and guidance for guarding devices, online accounts, performing sensitive transactions over secured networks, taking charge of online reputation and protecting social circles.

In Bangalore, collegemates Adithya Naresh and Yogesh S, students from the Amrita School of Engineering have started a hackers club in their college called Hacs (hackers for applied cyber security).

“The objective is to expose our classmates and juniors to the scope of cyber security and create awareness. We also intend to hold a techfest in this segment early next year,” say Adithya and Yogesh.

Tips to stay safe online: 

1. Use a unique four-digit PIN for mobile devices and strong passwords for online accounts.

Perform sensitive transactions over secured networks. This includes paying bills, banking or shopping.

2. Take charge of your online reputation. Know what information about you is on the internet, reevaluate it, remove unwanted content.

3. Protect your social circles. Use privacy settings to manage the information you share and with whom you share it. Be selective about what you post and accepting friends.

What is phishing?

Phishing is the act of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masking as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications from social websites, auction sites, banks, online payment processors are commonly used to lure unsuspecting people.

Rich haul

India faces 1,200 phishing attacks each month, as per industry estimates, while globally, 1.25 lakh phishing attacks were identified in the third quarter of 2013. Losses owing to phishing globally were about $1.66 billion.

Taking serious steps towards setting up a strong cyber security strategy, the central government in July declared its first National Cyber Security Policy, aimed at creating five lakh professionals by 2015.

Currently, there are only about 556 trained cyber security personnels in the government sector in India, as per KPMG estimates. This is minuscule compared with 1.25 lakh in China, and 91,080 in the US.
To learn about identity theft visit www.cibilconsultants.com
Source: Secondary

India is still dealing like an infant with cyber crimes, says Expert

India is still in infancy in the field of cyber crimes and police, prosecutors and lawyers are not well-versed in handling them as well as digital evidence, a Cyber crime expert said here today.

"Information Technology Act in India is of recent origin and the officials like police, prosecutors and lawyers are not well versed in handling cyber crimes as well as digital evidence, since these have recently emerged and the younger generation is more tech savvy," said Dr J R Gaur, Principal Scientific Officer (Life Sciences), Bureau of Police Research and Development while speaking at seminar at Amity University.

He said the pattern of crime has changed over a period of time and the commission of crime by scientific methods makes it difficult for the executioners to bring perpetrators behind the bars.

"In cyber crimes, India is still in infancy. ATM frauds are increasing. Effective forensic investigation at the scene of crime can bring criminals to book. The importance of the knowledge of forensic evidences specially traces of hair, fibre etc found at the site, have to be ingrained in the officials dealing with cyber crimes," he said.

Stressing that banks need to take steps to install modern security and vigilance gadgets and equipments including the CCTV cameras in the ATMs since most of the times, they record low resolution images which are difficult to identify once enlarged.

Addressing the seminar, Rakshit Tandon-Advisor, Cyber Crime Cell, Gurgaon Police and CEO A&R Info Solutions Pvt said there has been a significant rise of 60 per cent in Cyber Crimes from 2011 to 2012 in NCR.

"Maximum number of perpetrators in cyber crimes are very young, who are unaware of law and proudly proclaim themselves as 'Ethical Hackers'," said Tandon.

He said that in 2011, over 1,630 perpetrators for cyber crime were arrested and out of these, 928 were college going students and over 65 were school going children.

Stressing that "cyber laws in India needs transformation, he said at present, under Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008, the accused is punished for imprisonment, which may extend to three years or with fine, which may extend to five lakh rupees or both, irrespective of the magnitude of the crime committed.

"Cyber Laws have to be made stringent to restrict youngsters from indulging into them," said Tandon.
To learn about identity theft visit: www.cibilconsultants.com
Source: Secondary

CIBIL: Quarter percent of loan seekers are below 30 years of age

MUMBAI: There has been a huge rise in the number of people under 30 years of age seeking credit in the last five years, according to credit information provider, CIBIL report. While those under 30 years constituted just around 7 percent of the new credit applicants in 2008 and the same has grown to over 25 percent now, the CIBIL report said.

Interestingly, eagerness shown by youth in getting indebted comes at a time when people have been complaining about bleak times on the economic front due to falling growth, which also led to some job losses, the report said. Till FY 2008-09, the economy was doing very well and the same has now plummeted and logging even a 5 percent growth is also seemed to be an uphill task this fiscal, it said.

CIBIL further said it could be noted that the demographics have undergone a radical shift in the past decade, with the country getting more "younger", i.e. The percentage of working age population (between 15 and 35) growing rapidly. The percentage of those under 40 years applying for their first credit has gone up to 60 percent in 2014, from the 50 percent mark in 2008, the report said.

"Youth are driving credit growth with 60 percent of new loan applications coming from applicants, who are under 40," it said. With the economic growth facing troubles, coupled with a sense of "policy paralysis", lenders have been focusing very hard on the retail segment for growth as the project loans are not coming at all, the report said. According to the CIBIL, which has completed 10 years of operations, retail credit growth has driven an increase in its credit reports usage at loan origination. The credit information company said in the last five years, bulk of the growth has come from personal loans and two wheeler loan segments, followed by home loans.

CIBIL claimed the data it produces, and prudent risk management policies, have resulted in fewer delinquencies in banks' retail portfolios. It said the NPA rate of around 1.9 percent in 2010 has declined to 1.3 percent in 2013. "There is almost 30 percent reduction in NPA rates over the last four years," it said. In what it claimed is representative of the increasing usage of credit scores, CIBIL said over 80 percent of the credit active population has a CIBIL score of greater than 750.
For solution to any of your financial worries, contact us: CIBIL Consultants- Doctors for all your financial worries.

Source: Secondary

Lakhs of Indian Computers Infected

NEW DELHI: Over 42 lakh computer systems, including mobile phones, were infected in India by June last year with 'botnet' malware being used for various kinds of cyber crimes.

As per the data shared by Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) with other government departments, the botnet infected systems in the country was 25,915 in 2007 which peaked to about 65 lakh in 2012.

The number of botnet infected system grew rapidly and reached over 60 percent in first half of 2013.

"The bot infected systems are under control of cyber criminals. The bots steal sensitive information such as online credentials, credit card numbers, email id and passwords which cause data loss and financial loss to victims," CERT-in said in on setting up botnet cleaning centre in the country.

The term 'bot' is short for robot. Cyber criminals distribute malicious software that can turn a computer into a bot. These bots can be networked together as 'botnet' that can perform automated tasks over the Internet, without the owners of the devices coming to know about it.

Criminals use botnets to send out spam email messages, spread viruses, attack computers and servers, and commit other kinds of crime and fraud. It also slows down speed of infected computer or mobile phone.

Cyber criminals use Internet to plant malicious software or programmes in a system. In India there are about 210 million Internet connections which include both mobile phones and computers.
To know more about Identity Theft visit www.cibilconsultants.com
Source: Secondary

Demand: Inclusion of cyber security in poll manifesto

NAGPUR: We are living as much in the physical world as in the virtual one today. So much so that social networking sites and digital advertisements are being used as means to campaign for elections. Against this backdrop, city-based NGO Cyber Awareness Organisation (CAO) has appealed to parties to include cyber security in their political mandate.

The organization points out that the world is migrating from physical to digital form and in this transition phase there are numerous threats, vulnerabilities that are compromising netizens' security. They say the purpose of this appeal is to make an effort towards a secure and resilient cyberspace for citizens, businesses and the government in future.

"Unbelievably, high amounts of money are lost due to cyber crimes, only 10% of which are reported. In the upcoming festival of democracy, all political parties will try and lure voters, especially, the first timer who are techno savvy youngsters. Security in the digital world will be an important issue for them," said cyber law expert and president CAO Mahendra Limaye.

Providing this security would entail protection of information in cyberspace, reducing vulnerabilities, building capabilities to prevent and respond to cyber threats and minimizing damage from cyber incidents through a combination of institutional structures, user awareness, process and technology enhancement and coordination among all stake holders, he added. He also insisted that there must be emphasis on training of law enforcement agencies regarding understanding importance of cyber security as a national priority and cyber crime investigation.
To learn about Identity Theft visit www.cibilconsultants.com
Source: Secondary

Fraudsters evolve new methods says, Cyber Crime reports

MUMBAI: Cyber crimes on debit or credit card usage have more than doubled as fraudsters evolve new cloning methods to stay ahead of banks which are improving security features with chip and pin cards, according to preliminary industry data. 

The number of such crimes has increased by about 125% since a year ago, a senior official from the National Payments Corporation or NPCI, a settlement platform for e-payments, told ET on condition of anonymity. 

Every month there are up to 50 cases of travelers who have used their cards in smaller towns and when they leave it gets swiped again even though they are carrying their original card, according to data provided by cyber crime experts. 

"The rate of cyber crime on debit/credit card usage is tremendously rising at the national level," said Rakshit Tandon, Director - A&R Info Security Solutions & Advisor- Cyber Crime Unit, Uttar Pradesh Police, Agra. "Awareness about security measures is abysmally low from both customers and banks. People are falling victim either of cloning or identify theft." 

On an average there are about between 40 and 50 cases compared with between 10 and 12 cases Tandon had to deal with every month two years ago. 

It was not a joke played out on April 1, when Delhi's Santosh Pandey had read six cash withdrawal texts on his mobile phone in the morning wiping out Rs 80,000 in just five-ten minutes during midnight from Navi Mumbai ATMs, the place he has not visited even once in life. 

The country's largest lender, the State Bank of India BSE -0.73 %, will shortly make two security mechanisms fully operational: a one-time password or OTP and SMS card block facility with a brief narration. Besides, SBIBSE -0.73 % is set to run a media campaign on do's and don'ts for a customer to protect the person from any cyber attacks. 

"We have been running extensive campaigns to create awareness among customers and will pace it up. We are compliant to all RBI guidelines in this regard," said SBI's Pulak Sinha, general manager (payment solutions). The bank keeps on receiving complaints of debit card cloning, he said. 

NPCI runs a system called Fraud Monitoring Solutions where 45 scenarios have been fed to detect any possible manipulation. "It will decline transactions in such scenarios. Cloning related frauds are on the rise," said the NPCI official on condition of anonymity. But this will not trace transactions where debit cards are used within the parent bank's ATM network. 

Most of us are using debit cards encrypted with black magnetic strip on the flip side, which can easily be cloned unlike a chip-enabled card. "The entire industry hardly has one or two percent cards with chip and pin. This will not expand unless it is mandated by the regulator," said a head of a public sector bank. 

Here's how some ploys work: 

A cyber swindler typically uses skimmers, a device to take image of your cards. There are several innovative ways to use such tool. This mostly happens with travelers. 

For example, a customer uses card to pay her bills at restaurants, bars, hotels and malls. Now, a person with malicious intentions, will drop her card deliberately and bent to pick it up when the skimmer planted on his shirt pocket will take images within fraction of seconds. The same image is transferred to personal computer and then, given to manufacturers to get a duplicate card. 

For password, fraudsters take the help of "shoulder surfing", where one can trace password closely observing finger movements standing just behind user's shoulder. 

Similarly, a customer leaves potential space for skimmers when he gives his card to a third party at a petrol pump to pay bills. 

The most latest con game is that some glue is put below the key pad at ATMs so that the circuit does not function properly even if you press button but the ATM can read your card data once it gets swiped in the machine. Later, when you exit from ATM terminal, the prowler will immediately enter the same and remove the glue and will receive the desire access but for only one time. 

Con men can also get your card data cloned from the ATM slips, which almost every user drops at dustbin without destroying it completely.

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Source: Secondary