Phone hacking

Reports of people losing millions of rupees after hackers accessed details of peoples bank accounts

Lately, there has been a spate of mobile phone hacking in Punjab. There are reports of people losing millions of rupees after the hackers accessed details of their bank accounts. Of the more than 2,500 such complaints lodged with the FIA’s Cybercrime Wing, most are about hacking of phone records, websites and social media, according to media reports. Hackers did not even spare Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts of people and uploaded offensive messages and obscene video clips there and used them for blackmailing. In many cases, fraud was committed using the hacked social media accounts. In several instances, the users remained unaware about the hacking of their accounts, and came to know about it only after they received notices from the FIA for investigation of complaints.

Often users remain in the dark that their e-mails, social media accounts and other tools have been hacked. Fraudsters also intercept messages from phone companies to users about upgrade and changes in the system. Through this they gain access to important information about users and use them for their purposes. Experts attribute the increase in cases of online fraud to the general lack of awareness about the use of modern communication technology at a time when there is a growing need for knowledge of the tools required to foil attempts at hacking. Surprisingly, the FIA claims they are yet to receive orders to conduct detailed investigations into the issue. They say they would need the assistance of the PTA and other related organisations to carry out such inquiries.

Fraudsters with snoopy tendencies even include people on responsible official and elected positions. A case in point lies just the next door. New Delhi is reported to have hacked mobile phones of several Pakistani politicians and officials through an Israeli-manufactured spyware, Pegasus. PM Modi’s government is also accused of hacking mobile phones of Indian politicians from opposition parties as well as journalists. But despite the serious allegations, the authoritarian regime has not bothered to launch a probe.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 6^th, 2021.

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