Mumbai: Conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar had spoofed phone calls to fool Jacqueline Fernandez into believing that the call came from the office of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The conman became “friends” with the actress by spoofing phone calls from Shah’s office.
This was revealed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in its chargesheet related to the money laundering case against Fernandez, News18 reported.
What is mobile spoofing?
The scam came about in 2004 and required technical skills to spoof a phone number. Spoofing is a popular means for scammers to connect with influential people. But now, paid software and online services can get the job done for anyone without any tech background. There’s another concept called orange boxing, which can be used for specific targets.
How does it work?
The caller ID information is manipulated to make the victim believe that a call has been made by a particular person or place.
Where and when is it used?
Kidnappings: Criminals worldwide have used this technique in several kidnappings to make the victim’s family believe that they are making the bounty call from inside their home using the landline number.
Pranks: It is also used to prank people into believing that they have got a call from some celebrity. Spoofing has been around for years and there’s really no full-proof solution to stay safe from such calls. The only way around is to avoid calls from phone numbers that are not saved in your contacts.
Tracking criminals: Mobile number spoofing is also used by law enforcement agencies to track criminals or get intel on specific people. Spoofing can simply be seen as a way to ‘phish’ people on voice calls. It’s like if you are able to convince a victim that a particular call that they have received is from the police station or a politician’s office then there’s a lot of personal information that can be tapped by a scammer.
