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Hyderabad: Cybercriminals appear to have found a new avenue to capitalise on — the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR). As the SIR exercise rolls out in several states, the police have issued an advisory warning people against a new cyber scam in the name of electoral list revision.

Cybercrime using SIR

In the advisory, the police cautioned against suspicious social media and text messages providing “links” to the enumeration form. These messages typically warn that names will be deleted from the voter list unless the form is filled, and then provide a link to the supposed “form.”

Once victims click on these links, they are asked for a one-time password (OTP) or a processing fee.

The entire method is based on misinformation and is intended to steal confidential information and money.

Rely on BLOs, not suspicious links

The advisory urges the public to meet their Booth Level Officer (BLO) directly and rely only on official government websites for SIR or voter card-related updates.

It also reiterates that the SIR process is free of charge and that the Election Commission of India does not seek OTPs, Aadhaar, PAN, bank details or any personal information through calls or messages.

Citizens have also been instructed to verify secure URLs and maintain caution while using cyber cafes by clearing browser history, cache, and avoiding auto-save options.