Cyber frauds: How to avoid losing money to fraudsters

The chances of recovering lost money due to cyber fraud are low. Take precautions instead, like avoiding clicking on links shared on SMSs and emails without first verifying the sender’s authenticity. 

A bank never asks a customer to share sensitive information, such as a bank account number, credit card number, CVV, OTP, or password with them. 

News of cyber fraud continues unabated. On January 3, according to news reports, actor Rakesh Bedi got duped of Rs 85,000 by someone posing as a buyer for his flat after spinning a story about how Bedi needed to transfer him money before he could make the payment for his flat. By the time the actor realised that something was fishy, money had already left his bank account. 

To ensure it has up-to-date information on customers, a bank needs to periodically update the personal information in its records or do what is called a re-KYC (know your customer). Now, while a bank may inform you about the need for a re-KYC via an SMS, it will never ask you to do the re-KYC by clicking on a link sent on an SMS. Such SMSs typically come with a fake warning- your account will be blocked within the next 24 hours – forcing you to act in haste.  It helps to remember that a bank never asks a customer to share sensitive information, such as a bank account number, credit card number, CVV, OTP, or password with them. Shrikrishna Dikshit, Partner – Cyber Security, Nangia & Co LLP, talks about how banks are sending alerts to their customers on how not to fall for scams. But people need to read about these things, become more aware, and stay vigilant. 

Published in Money Control