How do remote access apps that enable cyberfraud work?

Every now and then you read in the newspapers that a KYC fraud occurs , a person is asked to install an app on the phone , with the help of which the ' hacker steals all the data of the phone ' and siphons off money from the victim's bank account... Since the focus of such news is on reporting , in such cases What kind of technique the hacker actually tries , what app he asks to install , what the app does, etc. are not very clear.

Let us get some clarity about such ' dangerous ' ' remote access app ' . An app that we consider dangerous is actually a very useful app , only a hacker exploits its features and people who don't understand how such an app works get caught in the hacker's clutches.

If the IT team sitting at the company headquarters is responsible for the maintenance of your and other people's computers in your office, then you would know about this remote access app or software. If you are using any accounting or other software, you will be familiar with remote access software for its online support.

With the help of remote access software, someone sitting away from our computer can , after our permission , gain access to our computer and make any changes to it. This is a great way to get technical help quickly. Busy executives also use remote access software to access their different PCs , laptops, etc. from anywhere.

Such software, as the name suggests , provides remote access to different devices, i.e., a person who is far away from the device can control it. Now there are remote access apps for smartphones too - which hackers abuse.

The Reserve Bank of India and other banks often warn that with the help of such apps, fraudsters can gain control of our smartphones and withdraw money from our banking accounts!

Remote access technology is not bad, but fraudsters have found a way to abuse it. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which handles the UPI system like the Reserve Bank, has issued a similar warning. As the use of UPI based payments in India continues to grow, if a person has a remote access app like ' AnyDesk ' or ' TeamViewer ' or ' Remote Desktop ' installed on their smartphone, a fraudster can use this app to get the UPI related address , OTP etc. And can add money from our account that we can spend online shopping.

This is the fault of the person using this app. If he inadvertently gives access to his smartphone to a stranger, then the fraudster gets away with it. Such apps cannot be banned as they are a legitimate , fair use.

What should we pay attention to ?

Just remember that don't install any app on the phone by a stranger.

If your smartphone doesn't have a remote access app, then there's nothing to worry about. But let's check one important thing related to this.

Find the ' App Permissions ' option in the phone settings and see which apps you have allowed to access your SMS ? It doesn't matter if you have allowed SMS access to financial services like BHIM , Paytm or GooglePay or well-known services like Google Play Store and Messages or your own mobile company's app, but if you have allowed any other app to read SMS, withdraw it. This is different from the remote access app , but the OTP of the issuing bank can also be stolen in this way.