To counter frauds committed on citizens under the pretext of unpaid electricity bills or pending KYC, the state government has begun sending mass messages to the public to raise awareness. Maharashtra Cyber, the nodal agency for cyber security and cybercrime investigation for the state, has tied up with telcos like Jio, Airtel and Vodafone in this effort to tackle online cons who have been misusing the bulk the messaging facility to dupe the public.

Maha Cyber officers said they took to sending mass messages after observing the latest trend of cybercrimes. Of late, crooks have been randomly sending messages to citizens saying their power supply will be snapped due to non-payment of bills. Those who panic and respond to these messages are told to download the AnyDesk app that gives full control of their mobile phones to another person. They also ask the victims to pay Rs 10, Rs 20 or Rs 30 to avoid disconnection.  “Once a customer fills details of his/her cards or bank accounts, the cybercriminal gets full access to those data and steals their money,” a Maha Cyber officer said.