Safety tips to keep in mind while
you opt for moratorium
The coronavirus outbreak has impacted our lives. In order to
help their customers, whose cash flows may have been impacted due to lockdown,
many banks are extending the facility of the moratorium ( deferment of EMIs).
However, it is advisable that the customer, who has not been financially
affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, should pay EMIs regularly as deferment of
instalments would attract interest.
Since a large number of customers are
opting for deferment by using the internet banking sites of their respective
banks, a new breed of fraudsters are working overtime to dupe unsuspecting
customers.
In some cases, fraudsters are calling customers, asking them for an OTP to avail the moratorium announced by banks to defer their EMIs.
Once the OTP is
shared by the customer, the fraudsters siphon off money from their account
immediately.
To create awareness and protect customers from such
fraudsters, ICICI Bank has come up with a safe banking advisory which includes
key safety tips that customers need to keep in mind while transacting through
mobile banking.
1. Do not share OTP to
avail EMI moratorium: Your bank will never call you or send you an email
for your OTP or password details to postpone your EMI or interest payments
(moratorium).
Never share any confidential or private information like OTP,
debit/credit card numbers, CVV numbers, netbanking/mobile banking password,
customer id, UPI PINs etc. with anyone asking for verification including bank
employees.
2. Disable the ‘Auto
Save’ or ‘Auto Complete’ features on your mobile banking app:
Do not enable
auto-fill or save user IDs or passwords for mobile banking and internet banking
transactions.
Though it’s convenient, it can be risky.
3. Don’t respond to
phishing texts:
Do not follow URL which you receive from unknown sources or
disclose personal information or online banking credentials via e-mail or text
message as these can be used for identity theft.
4. Beware of verification
calls:
The caller usually pretends to be a bank representative or someone from
the bank’s technical team. After giving a false sense of security, the caller
then tricks the victim into giving away their personal and confidential data.
When in doubt, always call or email the Bank or financial service institution
related to your bank and ask them about the call.
5. Conduct account
check-ups:
It is equally important to be aware about your financial
health. Regularly check your bank accounts to keep a track of your money.
Each
time you make a transaction, go back and check the balance to ensure that right
amount has been paid or received. In case of any discrepancy, immediately
contact your bank.
6. Turn on
notifications:
Keep the email and SMS notifications from your bank turned on.
It will inform you about any transactions made from your account.
This will
help you identify fraudulent transactions and inform the Bank in time.
7. Safety measures while
doing UPI transactions :
To do safe and easy banking, NPCI has introduced UPI
payments system. Several banking features, fund routing, collection requests
and payments request can be done seamlessly. While doing transactions, a
customer should know that a pin is needed only to make payments and not while
receiving. S/he should restrict access to screen-sharing apps and never share
pin, card and OTP details.
S/he should download only the trusted apps and treat
M-PIN exactly like ATM PIN and not disclose or share it with anyone. To be on
the safer side, one should put a lock on the payment apps. One should read the
text on the screen carefully and check if someone has sent an unwanted money
request on the UPI app. If there is a suspicion of fraud, simply decline the
transaction.
Lastly install an effective mobile anti-malware/anti-virus
software on your smartphone and keep it updated. Stay Safe! Bank Safe!
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