Mobile Security: Hackers Steal Mobile Payment data In China

China, one of largest market in the world, home to 649 million Internet users with millions of users being added every month. With high Smartphone penetration into the life of people, the money transactions through mobile payment services are inevitable. Comparing the internet payments, mobile payments may surpass in next 2 years. It was evident from the growth of Smartphone market.

While any benefit technology brings home will not come free of its own shortcomings. The days when the computers were target by hackers to steal confidential information were the past. With advent of mobile Operating Systems (OS), most of the human internet life is spent on Smartphone than on the PC. The convenience, portability and accessibility has lured users to adapt Smartphone while neglecting the risk associated with them. Here are few ways the hackers try to steal mobile payment data from your Smartphone.

Fraudulent Wifi

The most common trick the hackers tend to employ is setting up a free Wifi network. Chinese Internet users tend to make payments and bank transfers on-the-go via public Wifi networks. The reason is obvious. The Wifi is free to use and available when ever needed. Hackers started placing Fraudulent Wifi connection in the Shopping malls, multiplex entertainment centers.

When any person connects to such fraudulent Wifi network, all personal information from the Smartphone are sniffed out. The worst is when user make any purchase, hackers can steal the account data. Any Sniffers with promiscuous mode would suit the job to extract personal information that are travelling through Wifi network.

QR Codes with Virus

It is wildly used in Chinese Internet users to find friends, make payments, exchange information, redeem coupons. Hackers have started embed a virus to QR codes so that anyone scanning them will automatically download a virus to their smartphones. Personal information from phone numbers, contacts, mailing addresses to banking details and passwords would be stolen in seconds once the virus sits on the Smartphones. Any message or email stating to scan a QR code must be done with caution. The source of such message must be known before scanning them.

Phishing Website Attack

Most popular method among hackers, employed to steal confidential information from the users. The fake website which would appear as if the original website, will be presented to the end-user either through an email or a link. The user will be lured to enter confidential information to find oneself that the hackers have tricked them to disclose sensitive data. These fraud is commonly used against Internet banking users. Though, security agencies have beefed up security measures to counter the phishing threat, it still pose a serious threat. The customer who are unaware of the internet security usually end-up with phishing websites.