Fraudsters are increasingly adopting social engineering tactics through which they manipulate customers’ minds and steal money from their bank accounts. Platforms like the Unified Payments Interface (“UPI”) have strong security framework, which makes it difficult for fraudsters to exploit the system. Hence, they are attempting to lure customers in sharing confidential banking details like OTP, PIN, etc. on the pretext of attractive offers, prizes, cashbacks, and essential services.
HDFC Bank wants consumers to be aware of safe banking habits which will help them prevent cyber fraud attacks. At present, the following two methods are commonly being used to defraud consumers:
Fraudsters posing as buyers on online marketplaces It has been observed that fraudsters are often posing themselves as genuine buyers and instead of making payments they share UPI QR code link, requesting for money transfer. Once a seller clicks on the link, scans the QR code and enter his/her UPI PIN, the money gets debited from his/her bank account and gets transferred to fraudsters’ account.
Fake helpline numbers to trap unsuspecting consumers Fraudsters are posting fake customer care/helpline numbers on popular search engines to misguide customers. When customers unknowingly call in any of those numbers, fraudsters
pretending to be a representative of the customer’s bank/utility service provider/merchant/potential employer on the pretext of resolving their issues convince them to install screen sharing applications and/or request for fee or advance payment.
Commenting on how fraudsters are using innovative ways to steal money, Mr. Manish Agrawal, Head – Credit Intelligence and Control, HDFC Bank, said: “UPI has become immensely popular because of its simplicity, real-time settlement feature and a strong design architecture that ensures transactions are done in a safe and secured environment. It is extremely difficult for fraudsters to break into the UPI security framework, and hence they are attempting to exploit the vulnerability of our mind by offering us help in getting essential services or amazing offers that are too-good-to-be-true.”
“A fraud dispute analysis done by the bank shows that majority of UPI frauds are attempted between 7 AM and 7 PM, more than 60% of UPI fraud victims are salaried individuals, while over 75% of the victims are less than 45 years old. HDFC Bank has been conducting a host of awareness campaigns and workshops on Secure Banking ways to ensure that our customers are not cheated and don’t fall prey to cyber fraud attempts,” he added.
A list of dos and don’ts are mentioned below that will help customers in avoiding cyber frauds. Be alert to fraudulent calls asking you to download third party apps for resolution of complaints, Visit only the official website of HDFC Bank or the company for their customer care/helpline numbers, Do not respond to or click unverified links sent by unknown persons/institutions through SMS/WhatsApp, Do not share your sensitive banking details such as UPI PIN, debit/credit card number, CVV, expiry date, OTP, ATM PIN, etc. with anyone, Please beware that for receiving payments through UPI, you don’t need to enter UPI PIN or Scan QR Code, Mobile is your identity, in case it suddenly stops working, immediately place ‘No Debit’ request on your bank account and contact your telecom service provider and Report unauthorized transactions to your bank immediately and report this incident to the National Cyber Crime Helpline number by calling 1930.