PremiumIn an effort to combat escalating phishing attempts, the Press Information Bureau (PIB), a nodal body of the Government of India, has warned State Bank of India (SBI) users not to reply to bogus SMS alerts requesting personal and banking information in order to unblock their accounts.
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In an effort to combat escalating phishing attempts, the Press Information Bureau (PIB), a nodal body of the Government of India, has warned State Bank of India (SBI) users not to reply to bogus SMS alerts requesting personal and banking information in order to unblock their accounts. Fraudsters often send a fake SMS alert on behalf of SBI saying that your account has been blocked; to unblock the account, they urge you to enter your banking and private details by clicking on the URL specified in the SMS. The link you will click will take you to a fraudulent SBI website, and you will then become a victim of a phishing attempt.
According to a tweet from PIB “A message in circulation claiming that your @TheOfficialSBI account has been blocked is #FAKE." In response to counter such fraudulent activity PIB has said via a recent Tweet that “Do not respond to emails/SMS asking to share your personal or banking details. If you receive any such message, report immediately at report.phishing@sbi.co.in."
Customers should be aware that SBI or any other bank never asks you to update or complete your KYC by clicking on links inserted in an SMS, thus customers should be cautious before clicking on a link requesting them to update their KYC or giving account details in order to unlock their account.
Last month, in an attempt to counter ongoing bank frauds through SMS, SBI had informed its customers via a tweet that “Such SMS can lead to a fraud, and you can lose your savings. Do not click on embedded links. Check for the correct short code of SBI on receiving an SMS. Stay alert and stay #SafeWithSBI."
SBI has also mentioned on its website that “SBI never sends email for getting customer information. Please report immediately if you receive any e-mail purported to be originated by SBI to gather your Username or Password or any other personal information. This may be a phishing mail."
“State Bank or any of its representative never sends you email/SMS or calls you over phone to get your personal information, password or one time SMS (high security) password. Any such e-mail/SMS or phone call is an attempt to fraudulently withdraw money from your account through Internet Banking. Never respond to such email/SMS or phone call. Please report immediately on report.phishing@sbi.co.in if you receive any such email/SMS or Phone call. Immediately change your passwords if you have accidentally revealed your credentials," the bank has mentioned on its website.
Never share your personal or banking details with anyone or, save your account information on a website. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) says “If someone has fraudulently withdrawn money from your bank account, inform your bank immediately. When you notify the bank, remember to take acknowledgement from your bank. The bank has to resolve your complaint within 90 days from the date of receipt. If the transaction has happened because of your negligence, that is, because of your sharing your password, PIN, OTP , etc., you will have to bear the loss till you report it to your bank. If the fraudulent transactions continue even after you have informed the bank, your bank will have to reimburse those amounts. If you delay the reporting, your loss will increase and it will be decided based on the RBI guidelines and the policy approved by your bank's board." Contact your bank promptly if you suspect a fraudulent transaction, according to the RBI, or you can give 14440 a missed call for more information.