A New Scam Alert: Don't Hand Over Your Phone to Strangers, Warns Nithin Kamath
Despite ongoing awareness efforts by law enforcement on cybercrime, fraudsters continue to adopt new techniques to deceive the public. Nithin Kamath, the co-founder and CEO of Zerodha, recently shared a video on social media to alert people about a novel cyber fraud that could leave victims with empty bank accounts.
Explaining how these scams unfold, Nithin Kamath said, “Strangers may approach you claiming they urgently need to make a phone call and ask to borrow your mobile phone. Many individuals, acting out of goodwill, hand over their phones. However, this is a new type of scam. From blocking OTPs to draining bank accounts, fraudsters can cause significant harm without the owner realizing it.”
He elaborated that while pretending to make a phone call, the fraudsters install malicious apps on the device or download personal data. They can access the phone's settings to redirect calls, messages, and alerts to their own numbers. With access to OTPs and banking credentials, they carry out unauthorized transactions, change passwords, and compromise accounts.
To safeguard against such frauds, Nithin Kamath advised people never to lend their phones to strangers. “If the person genuinely seems to be in an emergency, you can dial the number yourself, turn on the speaker, and let them talk,” he suggested.
