For many weeks now, Ata Ahmed a legal resident in UAE complains he has been losing more than Dh3 in his post-paid mobile account. He was ignorant of it until he received a note from his telecom service provider informing him of credit limit achievement.
“I have a pre-paid mobile balance and I only use it to pay for parking through an SMS to the cashier to deduct the amount,” he said adding that when he wired his laptop to the internet connection at one of the hypermarkets and consulted the telecom service provider customer services, he discovered that he was being charged by VPN he had installed for its use. He proceeded to uninstall it.
After the VPN application was removed, the former, who had lost more than Dh200 in one month, gained back his composure and stopped falling off balance. Like the many others before, Ahmed was also a victim of such terrors.
Another long-time resident to benefit from the VPN app intended for audio-video calls to friends and families was Fatima Ahsan , who in addition to the downloaded app had recharged her phone but lost all mobile balance within the first two days.
Currently the usage of VPN service in the UAE is legal but one can misuse it to get into trouble legally that can lead one to imprisonment and the payment of up to Dh2 million.
Experts’ opinion
“Yes, if the mobile of the person has a bad VPN app installed, then the person controlling the scam can control the mobile and the unauthorized deductions will be from the post-paid or pre-paid money of the person,” asserted Ezzeldin Hussein, regional senior director for solution engineering in META at SentinelOne and further added,
“Yes, a bad VPN app can control the phone and make purchases from Apple AS & Play Store without the knowledge of the user.”
He said VPN can eavesdrop on the communication between the device and the internet, and steal related information like the user names and passwords to the app stores, which fraudsters use in making fraudulent transactions.
“If the VPN app asks and is granted broad permissions, it can get information on the users’s mobile balance and perform operations using the payment system of the mobile network. Furthermore, some VPN apps may perform hidden in-app purchases; individuals may not notice them for some time but then realize that they are charged after some time,” said Hussein.
Karthik Anand, the chief technical evangelist of ManageEngine, told me mobile phones are vulnerable to cyber threats than other personal accessories.
“Users normally are not aware whether the VPN network connection is connected or disconnected. As the hackers get into a user’s mobile phone, they can access any applications and not only the telecom provider’s app. The scammers can easily deduct either the pre-paid or post-paid mobile balance. All the scammer requires is a point of entry into the user’s mobile phone irrespective of the connection status of a VPN”.
Users exposed to hackers even when using a VPN
Thus, Karthik Anand stated that some enthusiasts of the VPN service believe they are invisible to hackers.
“One can track you down using the VPN address. While using the VPN the location and the IP address are two attributes that change frequently while the rest of the information can be potentially accessed by hackers. The bank credit card, CVV, expiry date, account information, etc. either stored in cookies or vaults are at risk of attacks or data theft whether in the use of VPN or otherwise.” said Anand.
Mobile balance stealing
Ezzeldin Hussein said current telecom operators can always take notice of some anomalies and know whether the same fraudsters are stripping pre-paid clients or postpay clients for they know they cannot spend beyond their limits.
Also, Hussein said such cases reported by customers, including the charging or deduction of the balance of their mobile phones, could help telecom operators detect some of the scams.
“Operators can analyze billing records to identify inconsistencies, such as charges for services or purchases that customers did not approve, and they can work with app stores to track and verify purchases made through their networks.”
However, he still advised the customers to monitor their accounts consistently and report any suspicious activities swiftly. This will help operators respond quickly and take necessary actions to prevent further losses.