Despite warnings, people still fall prey to OTP fraud

Despite repeated alerts by banks and the police, people continue to fall victims to the most rudimentary tricks of online fraudsters.

The latest in the list are two residents of Alangad who were almost duped of their money after they shared the One Time Password (OTP) with the fraudsters who in turn used it for making online purchase worth ₹69,507.

However, their money was not lost since they had the presence of mind to alert the Ernakulam Rural Cyber Cell immediately after they received mobile alerts of money debited from their bank accounts.

The fraudsters adopted the tried and tested method of ringing up the victims posing as bank officials and asked for the OTP in the guise of renewing their expired credit card. The victims realised their folly only when they received mobile alerts about the loss of ₹40, 000 and ₹29, 507 respectively.

It is a usual ploy of fraudsters to ring up unsuspecting people and ask for the OTP in the name of linking Aadhaar, renewal of ATM or credit card or for redeeming reward points.

The cyber cell officials found out that the fraudsters used the money for online purchase using e-wallets. They immediately contacted the e-commerce sites concerned and directed them to cancel the order and the money was credited back to the accounts. Investigation is on to trace the fraudsters.

Following the incident, the Ernakulam Rural Police issued a public advisory warning against falling into the hands of online fraudsters by sharing OTP/ATM pin/CVV numbers with strangers.