A major privacy concern has emerged for users in India with the appearance of a website called ProxyEarth. This platform can allegedly trace any person using only their phone number.
According to a report, the website was set up by an individual named Rakesh and utilizes data compromised from insecure telecom infrastructure. ProxyEarth reveals critical details about a person, including their live location.
All a person needs to do is enter a phone number into the website, and it displays all the details. It reportedly uses triangulation data from telecom towers to reveal a phone user's live location, a detail that is alarmingly accurate and concerning.
Data source and developer's claim
As per an India Today report, the website appeared a few days ago and is still live. It can provide details such as the user's full name, father’s name, address, alternate number, and email ID, all sourced solely from the phone number. This data is reportedly fetched from telecom records that users provide to operators when purchasing a SIM card.
The publication spoke to the developer, Rakesh, who is a programmer and video editor by profession and also runs several other websites. He has denied any wrongdoing, claiming the data on the site is already publicly available on the internet due to various data leaks. He stated his intention is to attract traffic to advertise his other products.
The way this type of information is shared online makes it easier for people to pull off complicated financial scams. Despite the risks to security, the website in question has been publicly accessible for almost a week, and Rakesh is still active on various online platforms, including social media.
Recent statistics from the National Crime Records Bureau show that cybercrimes have jumped by over 31 per cent in 2023, with 86,420 cases reported compared to 65,893 in 2022. This increase has raised the overall rate of cybercrime from 4.8 per cent to 6.2 per cent during that time.
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