Can you spot the scam?
Eight messages of the kind that reach Indian phones every day. Some are real, some are traps. Tap your answer and learn what gave each one away. This is a taste of the simulation labs inside CyberMitram.
Banks never send KYC links by SMS. Urgency plus a strange web address is the classic fraud pattern. Ignore it and call the number printed on your card.
Banks never send KYC links by SMS. Urgency plus a strange web address is the classic fraud pattern. Ignore it and call the number printed on your card.
No link, no request for money or personal details, and it matches what you already know from school. A normal message.
No link, no request for money or personal details, and it matches what you already know from school. A normal message.
Never share an OTP with anyone, even a friend. The scammer triggered that OTP to log into your account, and only you can stop it.
Never share an OTP with anyone, even a friend. The scammer triggered that OTP to log into your account, and only you can stop it.
It points you to the official app instead of a link, asks for nothing and creates no urgency. Still, always check inside the app, never from the message.
It points you to the official app instead of a link, asks for nothing and creates no urgency. Still, always check inside the app, never from the message.
Free in-game currency in exchange for your login is the most common scam aimed at students. The prize is bait for your account, which is then sold or used to scam your friends.
Free in-game currency in exchange for your login is the most common scam aimed at students. The prize is bait for your account, which is then sold or used to scam your friends.
A real OTP message asks nothing of you and tells you not to share it. It becomes dangerous only if you did not start this transaction, in which case call your bank now.
A real OTP message asks nothing of you and tells you not to share it. It becomes dangerous only if you did not start this transaction, in which case call your bank now.
A new number, an emergency and a payment request together is impersonation. Call your friend on the old number before sending a rupee. Real friends will understand.
A new number, an emergency and a payment request together is impersonation. Call your friend on the old number before sending a rupee. Real friends will understand.
No real job asks you to pay to start. A job without an interview and a fee to "activate" is a fee scam, and the fee is never refunded.
No real job asks you to pay to start. A job without an interview and a fee to "activate" is a fee scam, and the fee is never refunded.
Scams are designed to fool smart people. CyberMitram teaches the patterns so they become easy to spot.
How a simulation lab works
From Grade 9, students do this for real, in a sandbox where nothing can go wrong. The lesson is not "be careful". It is what, specifically, to look at.
- 1Receive
During the week, students get a harmless test message that looks like a real phishing attempt, on the app or by email.
- 2Decide
They click, ignore or report it. Nothing happens either way, but every choice is recorded for the class, anonymously.
- 3Debrief
In the next session the instructor shows how many clicked and takes the message apart line by line. Then the class writes its own.
Five things every student learns to check
Who is it really from?
Banks, schools and the government do not message from personal numbers or free email accounts. A name is not an identity.
Is there a clock?
"Today", "within 10 minutes", "or your account is blocked". Urgency exists to stop you thinking. Real institutions give you time.
Where does the link go?
Shortened links and look-alike addresses hide the destination. Type the official address yourself, or open the official app.
What are they asking for?
An OTP, a PIN, a password, a payment "to verify". Nobody legitimate ever needs these from you. Not the bank, not a friend, not the police.
Is it too good?
A prize from a contest you never entered, free game coins, a job with no interview. The offer is the bait.
If it happens to you
Falling for a scam is not a failure of intelligence. Scams are built to work on smart people. What matters is what you do in the next ten minutes.
- 1Stop. Do not send anything more, and do not delete the message. It is evidence.
- 2Screenshot the message, the number and the time. Write down what happened while you remember it.
- 3Tell a trusted adult straight away: a parent, a teacher, an older sibling. You will not be in trouble for asking for help.
- 4If money moved, call the national cybercrime helpline 1930 immediately and tell the bank. The first hour matters most.
- 5Report it at cybercrime.gov.in, and in the app so your school can warn other students.