Lately, there have been rumors regarding the fake SMS that has been spreading wrong and invalid news. These SMS are reportedly circulating through some applications and spreading invalid news about the PCR test and COVID-contact patients.
The SMS reads out fake information saying that there is some kind of extra charges for taking the PCR test. Moreover, some SMS also spread wrong information about coming in contact with COVID-19 patients.
Keeping this in mind the Central Bureau of Investigation (CIB) Nepal has issued a Press release stating the information is completely false. Moreover, they have requested the public not to believe and spread fake news anywhere. With further investigation, it came to disclosure that these fake SMS were sent through applications that also ask for personal information.
The CIB also states that such SMS is cheap to send and are easily accessible. So, taking the wrong advantage of the situation people committed to committing crime, bullying, and fraud send these kinds of messages. This press release stated that people with such mediocre mentality and abusive personalities tend to do such kind of work.
The CIB has also given information on how to avoid the damage caused by such SMS. The bureau has stated that if one pays attention to the following issues, one can stay away from both the cause of crime and the risk of becoming a victim.
Read: Nepal Telecom requests not to share codes with others.
Here is a sample of the SMS regarding contact with COVID-19 patient.
“According to our records, you have been in contact with someone who is Corona positive. You are requested to Self-quarantine yourself, maintain distance with family members and friends. Please be present at the Schedule time and location for the PCR test.
Your presence is mandatory else Rs 15,550 will be fined and you will be shifted to Kharipati Quarantine facility.”
These are SMS sent from Applications, which are generally termed as A2P (Application to Person) SMS. If you get SMS from a known person, then the SMS is P2P (Person to Person) which is the normal thing. But you need to be extra careful with the Application to Person (A2P) SMS. The above SMS is a complete hoax and intended to fraud you.
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How to avoid misleading SMS?
1. Mobile users have to respond carefully to the SMS sent from applications to the person. You need to ignore such SMS or delete it from mobile.
2. Financial and other service providers and telecommunications companies never ask you to provide your personal details via SMS. Please do not share such information with anyone.
3. Do not click on links received via SMS.
4. Don’t be tempted by offers such as lottery tickets or discounts. This is a fraud, be careful.
5. If you receive such SMS with the spoof, immediately inform the police or your telecom network provider.
Earlier there was this one ring Wangiri scam with which people were troubled with fake information.
With the excessive growth of internet users, there has also been an increase in such cases. Sharing excessive information on any app or social media can hamper our emotional and sometimes physical wellbeing as we can never predict what might happen or wrong.
So, that is why we must always be careful and think twice before using random apps and sharing our personal information on the internet as a whole. Taking precaution about our cybersecurity is a very important thing which we often ignore. This sometimes causes a very unexpected mishap and hamper our safety. That is why we should always be careful before sharing anything personal on the internet.
