the Bank of Thailand (BoT) denied an allegation made on social media that a man lost money from his bank account after charging his phone from a public outlet. BoT believes the theft happened because the man was the victim of a malware attack.
Police also attributed the theft to malware, stating that the user had downloaded an unsafe dating app called “sweet meet.”
The central bank issued a statement yesterday regarding the potential for cellphone users to lose money from modified charging cords, the Bangkok Post reported.
Wisanusan Sam-pok revealed in a Facebook post on Sunday that 101,560 baht had mysteriously disappeared from his bank account. Wisanusan said he only used the phone to charge in public.
A BoT-Thai Bankers’ Association conducted an investigation and found that malware had infiltrated the man’s phone and tricked him into installing an illegal application. This allowed a hacker to remotely access the phone and transfer funds from the user’s bank account while the phone was not being used by the owner.
BoT warned mobile phone users to be careful when opening unknown links, installing unverified apps and using unsecured phones for financial transactions. The bank also advised phone users to keep their mobile banking software fully up-to-date for increased security.
Deputy National Police Chief Pol General Torsak Sukwimol said the phone owner installed an unsafe dating app called “Sweet meet” which was the cause of the money theft.
“It had nothing to do with a charging cable. There were charging cables modified to steal data, but they couldn’t be used to steal money from mobile bank accounts. Such cables could only access basic information and GPS data and were tools of technicians.
“People need to pay attention and only download applications that are available through Google Play or the App Store.”
ORIGINAL STORY
the Central Investigation Office (CIB) advises the public to exercise caution when charging their batteries smart phone in public after the android phone was a Thai man chopped on the weekend. The CIB believes hackers have found a way to modify charging cables to steal phone users’ personal information.
Wisanusan Sam-pok revealed in a Facebook post on Sunday that 101,560 baht had mysteriously disappeared from his bank account. Wisanusan said he only used the phone to charge in public.
He added he has two phones, an Android and an iPhone. He mainly uses iPhone for calling, messaging, banking, etc. and only uses his Android phone for gaming.
Wisanusan said he had not received any fraudulent calls, downloaded any strange applications, or clicked any suspicious website links, but the money still mysteriously disappeared from his bank account.
Widsanusawan received a notification from his bank about the transaction, which he didn’t make. Looking closely at his phone, he noticed an unknown application on it, which he suspected was the app the hacker was using for data skimming.
Netizens commented on Widsanusawan’s post, saying that the hacker may have used a charging port and cable to help with data skimming.
CIB reported yesterday that hackers can use remote access points to control a skimming chip embedded in any type of charging port.
The chip can be used by hackers to skim personal information from smartphones, including passwords, financial information and bank account numbers, or to infect them with malware.
The CIB warned people who need to charge their phones in public to be careful when borrowing a stranger’s charger or plugging their charger into public charging outlets.
Parinya Homanek, a member of the National Cybersecurity Committee, said that such hacking, mainly on Android phones, can take place after victims have visited ad banners embedded with malware or downloaded applications outside of official app stores.
