World Cup ‘free streaming’ scams drain Rs7.5 million from Nepalis in less than two weeks

Cybercriminals are exploiting the global excitement surrounding the FIFA World Cup to defraud football fans in Nepal. Deceptive social media advertisements promising free live streaming of matches are luring unsuspecting victims into clicking malicious links and downloading unauthorized applications. This has resulted in a surge of cyber fraud, with authorities reporting approximately Rs7.5 million stolen in just 10 to 12 days.

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At first, I had no idea what was happening. After a while, I received notifications on my smartwatch saying money had been withdrawn from my bank accounts. That’s when I realised I had been hacked.

One victim, Anil Dangol Maharjan, described how a Facebook ad for a platform called “NBTV” led him to download an application. His phone immediately froze, and he received notifications on his smartwatch indicating money was being withdrawn from his bank accounts. In total, Rs300,000 was siphoned from his accounts in three separate transactions before he could react.

Dangol explained that even after restarting his phone, hackers could still gain access to banking applications. He felt as though someone had taken remote control of his device, noting that fingerprint or facial recognition seemed to grant hackers permissions on banking apps. The experience has left him fearful of downloading any applications, even legitimate ones.

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Once you restart the phone and enter your password, the hackers apparently get another opportunity to access your banking applications. When we unlock our phones using fingerprint or facial recognition, they somehow gain permissions on the banking apps. It felt as though someone else had taken remote control of my phone.

The Cyber Bureau has received 50 complaints related to these World Cup scams and has released awareness videos on social media to warn the public. The scams typically direct users to phishing links, and once users download the malicious content, their devices and financial information become vulnerable.

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Advertisements on Facebook claiming to offer free World Cup live streaming are directing users to phishing links. We recently released awareness videos on social media warning the public about these scams.