The Kozhikode City police have advised smartphone users to restrict the use of free Wi-Fi services available at shopping malls, airports, hotels, and other public places to prevent data theft. Instructions in this regard are being circulated on social media platforms as various cybercrime investigation squads have found that hackers are stealing personal data and banking information mostly from phones connected to unsafe Wi-Fi networks.
Cyber cell officers have advised users to at least avoid financial transactions using such open Wi-Fi networks. Even though many such networks are offered with separate usernames and passwords, using them could be risky as hackers could easily tap the login credentials, they warned.
Police officers revealed that protection of smartphone users’ contact lists, personal documents, photographs, and passwords would be at risk when connected to an open network. Stolen data, including phone numbers and photographs, could be misused for blackmailing, they said.
Though the police are making efforts to identify unprotected Wi-Fi networks in public places, it is yet to bear fruit. Creation of easily accessible Wi-Fi hotspots using mobile data is common at several locations now prompting smartphone users to try free and high-speed browsing.
“Automatic connection to such unsecured Wi-Fi networks is possible, if the user frequently explores free service from a particular spot. It is risky as it can happen even when the phone is inside one’s bag or pocket,” said an IT professional who assists the Kerala Police Cyberdome. According to him, the safest option is to use mobile data or Wi-Fi under personal control for banking.
Dinesh Koroth, Station House Officer at the Kozhikode Cyber police station, pointed out that the police had come across confidential complaints about open Wi-Fi networks created on the beach being used to steal personal data. “In most incidents, the motive of such network creators is to steal photographs and personal documents from phones,” he added.
