Masoom picked up a scam call and lost her savings: Learn from her experience.

Key Takeaways:

• Never share your personal or bank details with anyone over the phone or by mail. Details like OTP, PIN, and CVV are not required by anyone else
• Stay alert and up to date while using your cards or making any transactions
• If you come across any scam or fraud, it is best to report it then and there

Masoom is a 23-year-old working professional. Yesterday, she received an urgent phone call from her bank regarding her account. The fraudster posing as an employee created panic on the call, saying that her account had been blocked due to missing KYC updation and they required her personal details as soon as possible to resolve the issue. Since she was not using this account on a regular basis, and the scammer mentioned her full name and phone number, she believed him.

Once the trust was established, she shared all her details, like her debit card number, CVV, and OTP. This resulted in her losing all her savings. She became prey to vishing.

Masoom’s case is an example of vishing; many people fall for it daily, losing all their life savings. Vishing refers to fake calls, texts, or emails posing as if they are from your respective bank and asking for your details or hacking into your system. This is just one of many frauds that can happen. You must be aware of these frauds and stay attentive.

Some other frauds that you should know:

1. Fake apps and websites — Many fake websites may look precisely like the original ones but will leave you empty-handed and devastated.
2. Public internet or computers — Sometimes, when we use the public internet or work in a cybercafe, we forget to log out of our credentials or save details to the system, which is very risky. Same with using unsecured internet connections wherein our details can get leaked. Anyone can access that information and benefit from it.
3. Phishing — You must have received messages or emails like you have won this, and to avail, you need to click on the given link or similar emails. They might even ask for remote access to your device to solve your internet/banking issue. Clicking on it or giving remote access might share your details with the fraudsters.

Stay aware and alert, and be wary of such instances to avoid mishaps. There are a few things that you should keep in mind apart from staying alert.

1. Never give your details to anyone. No bank or financial institution will ask for OTP or PIN. They simply don’t require it.
2. Many apps block spam calls on your phone. They can be beneficial and save you from vishing.
3. Make sure you use a secured internet connection and device to make payments.
4. Change your passwords and PINs regularly so that it is difficult for scammers to keep track of them.

If you come across any fake websites, always report them, so no one takes the hit. Almost all websites have helpline numbers to report such frauds. You can report them to the Cyber Crime branch of police. You can report any scam related to Bajaj Finserv here.

Be aware and careful and protect yourself against risk. Keep yourself updated with all the scams, and stay vigilant. Remember Savdhaan Rahein, Safe Rahein.