Q.Mandeep received an email stating he won a lottery though he had never participated in any such event. He was asked to provide bank details to process the amount. Mandeep provided the required details but within next few minutes ₹ One lakh was debited from his account. Answer the following questions based on the given case study :

Let's break down Mandeep's unfortunate experience to understand the nature of the cybercrime he faced. The scenario describes a classic tactic used by cybercriminals to defraud individuals by impersonating a legitimate entity and tricking them into revealing personal financial information.

The core idea behind such attacks is identity theft, which is a serious cybercrime where a criminal obtains and uses another person's personal data (like bank details, passwords, or Aadhaar number) without their knowledge or permission, typically for financial gain. Mandeep's case perfectly illustrates how this can happen.

1. Mandeep is the victim of which type of cybercrime? Mandeep is a victim of phishing. Phishing is a specific type of cybercrime where attackers attempt to trick individuals into divulging sensitive information, such as bank account numbers, passwords, or other personal details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. In Mandeep's case, the email claiming he won a lottery was a deceptive attempt to lure him into providing his bank details. Once he provided these details, the fraudsters used them to access his account and debit money, which is a direct consequence of identity theft leading to financial fraud.
   Important

   Phishing is a technique used to commit identity theft and financial fraud. The goal is to trick you into giving up information that can then be used to steal money or impersonate you.

2. Other than email, mention any two common methods through which this type of cybercrime is being committed these days. While email is a very common vector for phishing, cybercriminals use various other methods to commit similar types of fraud and identity theft. Two prevalent methods are:

• SMS (Smishing): This involves sending deceptive text messages (SMS) that appear to be from legitimate sources like banks, government agencies, or delivery services. These messages often contain malicious links or ask the recipient to call a fake customer service number, aiming to trick them into revealing personal or financial information. For example, a message might claim a package is stuck in customs and ask for bank details to release it. …

Part (a)

1. Should Manohar give the required details? No. A genuine organisation never asks for your account number, PAN, phone number, password or OTP through a link in an unsolicited email, especially to hand over a "prize". These are red flags of a scam; sharing the details would expose him to financial fraud and identity theft.
2. What is the activity depicted? It is phishing — a form of identity theft where fraudsters impersonate a trustworthy entity (here "Make Money Pvt. Ltd.") through a deceptive email and link to trick the victim into revealing confidential information.
3. What should he do with this email?

• Do not click the link and do not reply.
• Mark it as spam/junk so the mail provider filters similar messages.
• Delete it. …