KATHMANDU, MARCH 5
The Ministry of Home Affairs has appealed to all internet users not to be tempted by online lottery, gift, parcel and foreign employment offered by racketeers involved in defrauding gullible persons by misusing information and communication technologies.
Issuing a press release, the MoHA cautioned people that scammers lure victims to transfer cash via banks and online payment gateway, and solicit their information about personal details and confidential account.
Scammers have been misusing social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Tik- Tok, Viber, Emo and various apps or social engineering before hacking their personal accounts.
"We urge everyone not to share their bank account details, citizenship certificate number, National ID number, passport number, ATM details, other personal passwords, driving licence number and One Time Password with strangers who are connected online. We also encourage online users to contact the nearest police office or District Administration Office if they come across such scammers," the release said.
The MoHA cautioned social media users against the traps set by online scammers for the purpose of hacking their accounts to serve their personal interests such as blackmailing, cheating, and extortion. The incidents of hacking and having unauthorised access to social media accounts are on the rise in recent times.
"Never click on a suspicious link sent by strangers," it said.
Phishing scammers usually try to gain access to other's accounts through a suspicious message or link that asks for personal details, including password and bank account.
Internet users have also been advised not to use the same password for a long time. "The users should not create and use a password that can be easily guessed by others. People should avoid disclosing their personal details to anyone. They should not accept friend requests from unknown persons as they may cheat gullible persons from home and abroad," the MoHA said.
Likewise, social media users have been advised to set up multi-factor authentication on their account in a bid to prevent the likelihood of hacking. This is a security feature offered by many websites and applications for improvement of account security. Despite relentless crackdown on online fraudulent rackets on the part of Nepal Police, scammers continue to swindle unsuspecting users out of millions of rupees.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 6, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
