Online Trading Scam: Digital trading has completely changed the way of investing in India. The work which earlier required going to the broker’s office, lots of papers and long wait, can now be done in one click on the mobile. Today investors can easily open demat accounts, buy and sell shares, apply for IPOs and invest money in mutual funds. Although this facility has made investment easier, but with it the risk of cyber fraud has also increased rapidly.
Why do retail investors become targets of cyber criminals?
With the expansion of Digital India, cyber fraudsters have found a new and easy target – retail investors. Now criminals are not limited to just social media or email accounts. Their direct targets are trading accounts, demat accounts, UPI and online banking platforms because they provide instant access to money. In view of this danger, Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) keeps advising investors from time to time to be cautious.
Small negligence, big financial loss
Many times investors unknowingly make such mistakes which become the cause of huge losses. Having a weak password, trading on public Wi-Fi, clicking on unknown links or trusting fake callers claiming to be brokers – these are all common mistakes. In such cases, your personal and financial information may fall into the hands of fraudsters, which increases the risk of account being emptied.
Your data is your most valuable asset
In today’s digital age, the biggest asset of an investor is not just money, but his financial information. Trading and banking apps contain sensitive information like PAN, Aadhaar, bank account details, portfolio and transaction history. If this data falls into the wrong hands, it can have serious consequences like unauthorized trading, fake loans, illegal transactions and identity theft. This is why cyber criminals target this data.
Now the methods of cheating have also become hi-tech
Cyber fraud is no longer limited to calls asking for OTP. Today, criminals are using methods like AI-based phishing, fake websites, clone apps, screen-sharing scams and remote access malware. Their aim is to mislead the investor and gain control of his phone or account, that too without him realizing it.
Easy but important rules of digital safety
Experts believe that most risks can be avoided with a little digital vigilance. First of all, it is very important to create a strong password which includes upper and lower case letters, numbers and special symbols. Simple information like name, date of birth or mobile number should be avoided in the password.
Along with this, keep two-factor authentication (2FA) on so that the account remains safe even if the password is leaked. Never do any work related to trading or banking on public Wi-Fi. Download apps only from official stores and keep updating them from time to time.
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