From Social Media Ads to Fraud: The Rise of Fake Banking Apps - A Cybercrime investigation Case Study
Executive Summary:
Recently, CyberPeace faced a case involving a fraudulent Android application imitating the Punjab National Bank (PNB). The victim was tricked into downloading an APK file named "PNB.apk" via WhatsApp. After the victim installed the apk file, it resulted in unauthorized multiple transactions on multiple credit cards.
Case Study: The Attack: Social Engineering Meets Malware
The incident started when the victim clicked on a Facebook ad for a PNB credit card. After submitting basic personal information, the victim receives a WhatsApp call from a profile displaying the PNB logo. The attacker, posing as a bank representative, fakes the benefits and features of the Credit Card and convinces the victim to install an application named PNB.apk. The so called bank representative sent the app through WhatsApp, claiming it would expedite the credit card application. The application was installed in the mobile device as a customer care application. It asks for permissions such as to send or view SMS messages. The application opens only if the user provides this permission.
It extracts the credit card details from the user such as Full Name, Mobile Number, complain, on further pages irrespective of Refund, Pay or Other. On further processing, it asks for other information such as credit card number, expiry date and cvv number.
Now the scammer has access to all the details of the credit card information, access to read or view the sms to intercept OTPs.
The victim, thinking they were securely navigating the official PNB website, was unaware that the malware was granting the hacker remote access to their phone. This led to ₹4 lakhs worth of 11 unauthorized transactions across three credit cards.
The Investigation & Analysis:
Upon receiving the case through CyberPeace helpline, the CyberPeace Research Team acted swiftly to neutralize the threat and secure the victim’s device. Using a secure remote access tool, we gained control of the phone with the victim’s consent. Our first step was identifying and removing the malicious "PNB.apk" file, ensuring no residual malware was left behind.
Next, we implemented crucial cyber hygiene practices:
- Revoking unnecessary permissions – to prevent further unauthorized access.
- Running antivirus scans – to detect any remaining threats.
- Clearing sensitive data caches – to remove stored credentials and tokens.
The CyberPeace Helpline team assisted the victim to report the fraud to the National Cybercrime Portal and helpline (1930) and promptly blocked the compromised credit cards.
The technical analysis for the app was taken ahead and by using the md5 hash file id. This app was marked as malware in virustotal and it has all the permissions such as Send/Receive/Read SMS, System Alert Window.
In the similar way, we have found another application in the name of “Axis Bank” which is circulated through whatsapp which is having similar permission access and the details found in virus total are as follows:
Recommendations:
This case study implies the increasingly sophisticated methods used by cybercriminals, blending social engineering with advanced malware. Key lessons include:
- Be vigilant when downloading the applications, even if they appear to be from legitimate sources. It is advised to install any application after checking through an application store and not through any social media.
- Always review app permissions before granting access.
- Verify the identity of anyone claiming to represent financial institutions.
- Use remote access tools responsibly for effective intervention during a cyber incident.
By acting quickly and following the proper protocols, we successfully secured the victim’s device and prevented further financial loss.
Related Blogs
Executive Summary
A claim circulating on social media alleges that India refused to unload crude oil from two Iranian tankers following a call between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after the US announced fresh restrictions on Iranian oil exports. However, research by the CyberPeace Research Wing found the claim to be misleading. The probe revealed that two supertankers carrying Iranian crude are currently anchored off India’s western and eastern coasts. No credible evidence or reports suggest that India refused to unload the cargo or sent the vessels back.
Claim
A user on X claimed that India returned 2 million barrels of Iranian crude oil after a phone call from Donald Trump. According to the post, India had already paid for the oil and the tanker was en route, but following the call with Narendra Modi, authorities refused to unload the shipment and sent the tanker back to Iran.
Fact Check
No credible national or international media reports were found to support the claim that India refused to accept Iranian oil or returned the tankers. Given the global scrutiny on oil shipments amid tensions in West Asia, any such development would have drawn widespread coverage. According to Reuters, two large crude carriers loaded with Iranian oil reached Indian ports on April 13. The Iran-flagged Felicity arrived near Sikka port in Gujarat, while the Curacao-flagged Jaya reached Paradip port in Odisha. The report noted that this marked the first purchase of Iranian oil by Indian refiners since 2019.
Further, The Times of India reported that Felicity, owned by the National Iranian Tanker Company, anchored off Sikka on April 12 carrying around 2 million barrels of crude loaded from Kharg Island in mid-March. The second tanker, Jaya, also anchored near Paradip around the same time, having departed with a similar volume of crude in late February. While the buyers of these cargoes have not been officially disclosed, Paradip port is primarily used by Indian Oil Corporation, while Sikka port is used by Reliance Industries and Bharat Petroleum Corporation.
Conclusion
The viral claim is false and misleading. Available evidence shows that the Iranian oil tankers are stationed near Indian ports, and there is no confirmation that India refused to unload the cargo or sent the vessels back.
Introduction
In an era when misinformation spreads like wildfire across the digital landscape, the need for effective strategies to counteract these challenges has grown exponentially in a very short period. Prebunking and Debunking are two approaches for countering the growing spread of misinformation online. Prebunking empowers individuals by teaching them to discern between true and false information and acts as a protective layer that comes into play even before people encounter malicious content. Debunking is the correction of false or misleading claims after exposure, aiming to undo or reverse the effects of a particular piece of misinformation. Debunking includes methods such as fact-checking, algorithmic correction on a platform, social correction by an individual or group of online peers, or fact-checking reports by expert organisations or journalists. An integrated approach which involves both strategies can be effective in countering the rapid spread of misinformation online.
Brief Analysis of Prebunking
Prebunking is a proactive practice that seeks to rebut erroneous information before it spreads. The goal is to train people to critically analyse information and develop ‘cognitive immunity’ so that they are less likely to be misled when they do encounter misinformation.
The Prebunking approach, grounded in Inoculation theory, teaches people to recognise, analyse and avoid manipulation and misleading content so that they build resilience against the same. Inoculation theory, a social psychology framework, suggests that pre-emptively conferring psychological resistance against malicious persuasion attempts can reduce susceptibility to misinformation across cultures. As the term suggests, the MO is to help the mind in the present develop resistance to influence that it may encounter in the future. Just as medical vaccines or inoculations help the body build resistance to future infections by administering weakened doses of the harm agent, inoculation theory seeks to teach people fact from fiction through exposure to examples of weak, dichotomous arguments, manipulation tactics like emotionally charged language, case studies that draw parallels between truths and distortions, and so on. In showing people the difference, inoculation theory teaches them to be on the lookout for misinformation and manipulation even, or especially, when they least expect it.
The core difference between Prebunking and Debunking is that while the former is preventative and seeks to provide a broad-spectrum cover against misinformation, the latter is reactive and focuses on specific instances of misinformation. While Debunking is closely tied to fact-checking, Prebunking is tied to a wider range of specific interventions, some of which increase motivation to be vigilant against misinformation and others increase the ability to engage in vigilance with success.
There is much to be said in favour of the Prebunking approach because these interventions build the capacity to identify misinformation and recognise red flags However, their success in practice may vary. It might be difficult to scale up Prebunking efforts and ensure their reach to a larger audience. Sustainability is critical in ensuring that Prebunking measures maintain their impact over time. Continuous reinforcement and reminders may be required to ensure that individuals retain the skills and information they gained from the Prebunking training activities. Misinformation tactics and strategies are always evolving, so it is critical that Prebunking interventions are also flexible and agile and respond promptly to developing challenges. This may be easier said than done, but with new misinformation and cyber threats developing frequently, it is a challenge that has to be addressed for Prebunking to be a successful long-term solution.
Encouraging people to be actively cautious while interacting with information, acquire critical thinking abilities, and reject the effect of misinformation requires a significant behavioural change over a relatively short period of time. Overcoming ingrained habits and prejudices, and countering a natural reluctance to change is no mean feat. Developing a widespread culture of information literacy requires years of social conditioning and unlearning and may pose a significant challenge to the effectiveness of Prebunking interventions.
Brief Analysis of Debunking
Debunking is a technique for identifying and informing people that certain news items or information are incorrect or misleading. It seeks to lessen the impact of misinformation that has already spread. The most popular kind of Debunking occurs through collaboration between fact-checking organisations and social media businesses. Journalists or other fact-checkers discover inaccurate or misleading material, and social media platforms flag or label it. Debunking is an important strategy for curtailing the spread of misinformation and promoting accuracy in the digital information ecosystem.
Debunking interventions are crucial in combating misinformation. However, there are certain challenges associated with the same. Debunking misinformation entails critically verifying facts and promoting corrected information. However, this is difficult owing to the rising complexity of modern tools used to generate narratives that combine truth and untruth, views and facts. These advanced approaches, which include emotional spectrum elements, deepfakes, audiovisual material, and pervasive trolling, necessitate a sophisticated reaction at all levels: technological, organisational, and cultural.
Furthermore, It is impossible to debunk all misinformation at any given time, which effectively means that it is impossible to protect everyone at all times, which means that at least some innocent netizens will fall victim to manipulation despite our best efforts. Debunking is inherently reactive in nature, addressing misinformation after it has grown extensively. This reactionary method may be less successful than proactive strategies such as Prebunking from the perspective of total harm done. Misinformation producers operate swiftly and unexpectedly, making it difficult for fact-checkers to keep up with the rapid dissemination of erroneous or misleading information. Debunking may need continuous exposure to fact-check to prevent erroneous beliefs from forming, implying that a single Debunking may not be enough to rectify misinformation. Debunking requires time and resources, and it is not possible to disprove every piece of misinformation that circulates at any particular moment. This constraint may cause certain misinformation to go unchecked, perhaps leading to unexpected effects. The misinformation on social media can be quickly spread and may become viral faster than Debunking pieces or articles. This leads to a situation in which misinformation spreads like a virus, while the antidote to debunked facts struggles to catch up.
Prebunking vs Debunking: Comparative Analysis
Prebunking interventions seek to educate people to recognise and reject misinformation before they are exposed to actual manipulation. Prebunking offers tactics for critical examination, lessening the individuals' susceptibility to misinformation in a variety of contexts. On the other hand, Debunking interventions involve correcting specific false claims after they have been circulated. While Debunking can address individual instances of misinformation, its impact on reducing overall reliance on misinformation may be limited by the reactive nature of the approach.
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CyberPeace Policy Recommendations for Tech/Social Media Platforms
With the rising threat of online misinformation, tech/social media platforms can adopt an integrated strategy that includes both Prebunking and Debunking initiatives to be deployed and supported on all platforms to empower users to recognise the manipulative messaging through Prebunking and be aware of the accuracy of misinformation through Debunking interventions.
- Gamified Inoculation: Tech/social media companies can encourage gamified inoculation campaigns, which is a competence-oriented approach to Prebunking misinformation. This can be effective in helping people immunise the receiver against subsequent exposures. It can empower people to build competencies to detect misinformation through gamified interventions.
- Promotion of Prebunking and Debunking Campaigns through Algorithm Mechanisms: Tech/social media platforms may promote and guarantee that algorithms prioritise the distribution of Prebunking materials to users, boosting educational content that strengthens resistance to misinformation. Platform operators should incorporate algorithms that prioritise the visibility of Debunking content in order to combat the spread of erroneous information and deliver proper corrections; this can eventually address and aid in Prebunking and Debunking methods to reach a bigger or targeted audience.
- User Empowerment to Counter Misinformation: Tech/social media platforms can design user-friendly interfaces that allow people to access Prebunking materials, quizzes, and instructional information to help them improve their critical thinking abilities. Furthermore, they can incorporate simple reporting tools for flagging misinformation, as well as links to fact-checking resources and corrections.
- Partnership with Fact-Checking/Expert Organizations: Tech/social media platforms can facilitate Prebunking and Debunking initiatives/campaigns by collaborating with fact-checking/expert organisations and promoting such initiatives at a larger scale and ultimately fighting misinformation with joint hands initiatives.
Conclusion
The threat of online misinformation is only growing with every passing day and so, deploying effective countermeasures is essential. Prebunking and Debunking are the two such interventions. To sum up: Prebunking interventions try to increase resilience to misinformation, proactively lowering susceptibility to erroneous or misleading information and addressing broader patterns of misinformation consumption, while Debunking is effective in correcting a particular piece of misinformation and having a targeted impact on belief in individual false claims. An integrated approach involving both the methods and joint initiatives by tech/social media platforms and expert organizations can ultimately help in fighting the rising tide of online misinformation and establishing a resilient online information landscape.
References
- https://mark-hurlstone.github.io/THKE.22.BJP.pdf
- https://futurefreespeech.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Empowering-Audiences-Through-%E2%80%98Prebunking-Michael-Bang-Petersen-Background-Report_formatted.pdf
- https://newsreel.pte.hu/news/unprecedented_challenges_Debunking_disinformation
- https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/global-vaccination-badnews/
Recent Incidents:
Recent reports are revealing a significant security threat linked to a new infostealer based malware campaign known to solely target gaming accounts. This attack has affected users of Activision and other gaming websites. The sophisticated software has captured millions of login credentials, notably from the cheats and players. The officials at Activision Blizzard, an American video game holding company, are still investigating the matter and collaborating with cheated developers to minimize the impact and inform the accounts’ residents of appropriate safety measures.
Overview:
Infostealer, also known as information stealer, is a type of malware designed in the form of a Trojan virus for stealing private data from the infected system. It can have a variety of incarnations and collect user data of various types such as browser history, passwords, credit card numbers, and login details and credentials to social media, gaming platforms, bank accounts, and other websites. Bad actors use the log obtained as a result of the collection of personal records to access the victim’s financial accounts, appropriate the victim’s online identity, and perform fraudulent actions on behalf of the victim.
Modus Operandi:
- Infostealer is a malicious program created to illegally obtain people's login details, like usernames and passwords. Its goal is to enable cyberattacks, sell on dark web markets, or pursue malicious aims.
- This malware targets both personal devices and corporate systems. It spreads through methods like phishing emails, harmful websites, and infected public sites.
- Once inside a device, Infostealer secretly gathers sensitive data like passwords, account details, and personal information. It's designed to infiltrate systems being undetected. The stolen credentials are compiled into datalogs. These logs are then sold illegally on dark web marketplaces for profit.
Analysis:
Basic properties:
- MD5: 06f53d457c530635b34aef0f04c59c7d
- SHA-1: 7e30c3aee2e4398ddd860d962e787e1261be38fb
- SHA-256: aeecc65ac8f0f6e10e95a898b60b43bf6ba9e2c0f92161956b1725d68482721d
- Vhash: 145076655d155515755az4e?z4
- Authentihash: 65b5ecd5bca01a9a4bf60ea4b88727e9e0c16b502221d5565ae8113f9ad2f878
- Imphash: f4a69846ab44cc1bedeea23e3b680256
- Rich PE header hash: ba3da6e3c461234831bf6d4a6d8c8bff
- SSDEEP: 6144:YcdXHqXTdlR/YXA6eV3E9MsnhMuO7ZStApGJiZcX8aVEKn3js7/FQAMyzSzdyBk8:YIKXd/UgGXS5U+SzdjTnE3V
- TLSH:T1E1B4CF8E679653EAC472823DCC232595E364FB009267875AC25702D3EFBB3D56C29F90
- File type: Win32 DLL executable windows win32 pepe dll
- Magic: PE32+ executable (DLL) (GUI) x86-64, for MS Windows
- File size: 483.50 KB (495104 bytes)
Additional Hash Files:
- 160389696ed7f37f164f1947eda00830
- 229a758e232aeb49196c862655797e12
- 23e4ac5e7db3d5a898ea32d27e8b7661
- 3440cced6ec7ab38c6892a17fd368cf8
- 36d7da7306241979b17ca14a6c060b92
- 38d2264ff74123f3113f8617fabc49f6
- 3c5c693ba9b161fa1c1c67390ff22c96
- 3e0fe537124e6154233aec156652a675
- 4571090142554923f9a248cb9716a1ae
- 4e63f63074eb85e722b7795ec78aeaa3
- 63dd2d927adce034879b114d209b23de
- 642aa70b188eb7e76273130246419f1d
- 6ab9c636fb721e00b00098b476c49d19
- 71b4de8b5a1c5a973d8c23a20469d4ec
- 736ce04f4c8f92bda327c69bb55ed2fc
- 7acfddc5dfd745cc310e6919513a4158
- 7d96d4b8548693077f79bc18b0f9ef21
- 8737c4dc92bd72805b8eaf9f0ddcc696
- 9b9ff0d65523923a70acc5b24de1921f
- 9f7c1fffd565cb475bbe963aafab77ff
Indicators of Compromise:
- Unusual Outbound Network Traffic: An increase in odd or questionable outbound network traffic may be a sign that infostealer malware has accessed more data.
- Anomalies in Privileged User Account Activity: Unusual behavior or illegal access are two examples of irregular actions that might indicate a breach in privileged user accounts.
- Suspicious Registry or System File Changes: Infostealer malware may be trying to alter system settings if there are any unexpected changes to system files, registry settings, or configurations.
- Unusual DNS queries: When communicating with command and control servers or rerouting traffic, infostealer malware may produce strange DNS queries.
- Unexpected System Patching: Unexpected or unauthorized system patching by unidentified parties may indicate that infostealer malware has compromised the system and is trying to hide its footprint or become persistent.
- Phishing emails and social engineering attempts: It is a popular strategy employed by cybercriminals to get confidential data or implant malicious software. To avoid compromise, it is crucial to be wary of dubious communications and attempts of social engineering.
Recommendations:
- Be Vigilant: In today's digital world, many cybercrimes threaten online safety, Phishing tricks, fake web pages, and bad links pose real dangers. Carefully check email sources. Examine websites closely. Use top security programs. Follow safe browsing rules. Update software often. Share safety tips. These steps reduce risks. They help keep your online presence secure.
- Regular use of Anti-Virus Software to detect the threats: Antivirus tools are vital for finding and stopping cyber threats. These programs use signature detection and behavior analysis to identify known malicious code and suspicious activities. Updating virus definitions and software-patches regularly, improves their ability to detect new threats. This helps maintain system security and data integrity.
- Provide security related training to the employees and common employees: One should learn Cybersecurity and the best practices in order to keep the office safe. Common workers will get lessons on spotting risks and responding well, creating an environment of caution.
- Keep changing passwords: Passwords should be changed frequently for better security. Rotating passwords often makes it harder for cyber criminals to compromise and make it happen or confidential data to be stolen. This practice keeps intruders out and shields sensitive intel.
Conclusion:
To conclude, to reduce the impact and including the safety measures, further investigations and collaboration are already in the pipeline regarding the recent malicious software that takes advantage of gamers and has stated that about millions of credentials users have been compromised. To protect sensitive data, continued usage of antivirus software, use of trusted materials and password changes are the key elements. The ways to decrease risks and safely protect sensitive information are to develop improved Cybersecurity methods such as multi-factor authentication and the conduct of security audits frequently. Be safe and be vigilant.
Reference:
- https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/28/activision-says-its-investigating-password-stealing-malware-targeting-game-players/
- https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/activision-enable-2fa-to-secure-accounts-recently-stolen-by-malware/
- https://cyber.vumetric.com/security-news/2024/03/29/activision-enable-2fa-to-secure-accounts-recently-stolen-by-malware/
- https://www.virustotal.com/
- https://otx.alienvault.com/
