Public Computer and Cyber Cafe Login Theft over the phone

How it looks over the phone, the red flags and what to do.

A phone call lets the scammer talk fast, sound confident and keep you from thinking. The caller ID can be faked, so it proves nothing. Public Computer and Cyber Cafe Login Theft is one of the ways this shows up: Logging in to bank, email or government portals on a cafe or kiosk computer can expose passwords through keyloggers or saved sessions.

What public computer and cyber cafe login theft looks like over the phone

• Being told to stay on the line and not to tell your family.
• Instructions to install a screen-sharing app or to press keys on the phone.
• A second "senior officer" who takes over the call.

The set-up is a shared computer with software that records keystrokes, or a browser that is set to save passwords and open sessions. The operator or a previous user may have installed a keylogger, which saves every key you type and sends it to a remote person. Some kiosks show fake login pages that look like the real portal, or redirect to lookalike addresses that capture your credentials as you type them.

Red flags to check on the phone call

• A shared computer asks you to save passwords or stay signed in.
• The operator asks to see your OTP or takes your phone to 'help'.
• The web address looks slightly different from the real portal.
• The machine has unfamiliar software, toolbars or slow typing responses.
• You are asked to move money to a "safe account".
• You are told to keep the call secret.

What to do

1. Avoid net banking and sensitive logins on shared computers.
2. If you must log in, use a private window and log out completely when done.
3. Never save passwords, never read your OTP aloud and delete any downloaded files.
4. If you already installed an app on the call, uninstall it and switch on airplane mode, then call your bank at once.
5. Tell a family member and report the number on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility).
6. Hang up. A real bank or office will not mind that you call them back.

Report the number on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility). If money moved, call 1930 immediately.

If money or a code is already gone

1. If money moved, call 1930 and report at cybercrime.gov.in at once.
2. Call your bank on the number on your card and ask them to protect your account.
3. Change passwords for email, banking and portals from a trusted device, and log out other sessions.
4. Check which documents you left behind and request their deletion from the cafe.

National Cyber Crime Helpline: 1930; report at cybercrime.gov.in.

Safeavio Sentinel is an Android app and does not protect a shared computer. On your own phone, Link check can test a portal link before you open it, and the password-exposure check shows a rough result about whether a password has appeared in known leaks without sending it anywhere. Safeavio cannot detect a keylogger on a cafe machine, so avoid sensitive logins there.

Full guide: Public Computer and Cyber Cafe Login Theft: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: fake app, social media, email.

Questions