In a startling incident underscoring the growing menace of cybercrime, a woman’s Swiggy account was hacked, leading to fraudulent orders worth Rs 97,000.
The Delhi Police swiftly acted on the complaint, arresting two individuals, Aniket Kalra (25) and Himanshu Kumar (23), from Gurugram, Haryana, for their involvement in this sophisticated scam.
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Impact & How Hack Orchested
The victim, a resident of Sultanpur, faced a significant financial loss amounting to Rs 97,197 from her Lazy Pay account linked with Swiggy.
This incident highlights the economic implications of cybercrime and raises concerns about the emotional and psychological impact on victims.
The breach of personal security and privacy can lead to vulnerability and distress.
The modus operandi of the hackers was ingeniously deceptive. They employed an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system to trick victims into believing their Swiggy accounts were being accessed illegally.
The victims were then coaxed into providing sensitive information, which the hackers used to place orders from the victims’ accounts.
These orders were primarily for grocery items, later sold at discounted rates in the market.
This method highlights modern-day hackers’ technical sophistication and psychological manipulation techniques.
By exploiting the trust people place in automated systems and their fear of unauthorized account access, the hackers could carry out their fraudulent activities with alarming success.
Arrest of Hackers
The arrest of Aniket Kalra and Himanshu Kumar resulted from diligent police work, including analysis of call details and financial transactions.
The investigation revealed that the duo had been using the IVR system to hack into Swiggy accounts, linking a phone number registered under fake ownership to the victim’s Swiggy account for order deliveries.
This meticulous planning allowed them to evade detection for a time. Aniket, a former delivery boy for Zomato and Swiggy, confessed to buying grocery items at lower prices online and reselling them, thus profiting from each fraudulent transaction.
This incident is a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities present in digital platforms and the importance of cybersecurity measures.
Swiggy has responded by enhancing security features, including automatically delinking user wallets and BNPL accounts on new device logins or contact number changes and implementing two-factor authentication.
These steps are crucial in safeguarding users against such frauds in the future. The swift action by the Delhi Police in apprehending the culprits also sends a strong message to cybercriminals about the consequences of such illicit activities.
However, it also emphasizes the need for users to remain vigilant and cautious, especially when dealing with unsolicited communications that seek personal information.
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