Beware! Deferring of EMIs doesn’t need OTP sharing

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, April 6

If you receive an unsolicited call that seems to come from your bank about the EMI moratorium scheme asking you to avail the facility to defer monthly payments by three months, and if you say yes and in reply they ask for an OTP (one-time password), then be alert, it’s most likely a scam.

In conversation with The Tribune, cyber security researcher Palvinder Singh, CEO and founder of Secuneus Technologies, here, said, there had been reports of EMI payment fraud with people in other states. The fraud was also doing rounds on social media and many banks, including the SBI, HDFC, Yes Bank, had been sending advisory to customers, asking them to not to fall prey to such frauds.

He said fraudsters taking advantage of the EMI deferring facility was fooling people by sending them text messages which seem similar to the one received from banks or were making calls and then asking to share details of ATM or debit cards or OTPs.

“Fraudsters keep finding new ways to dupe people. The only way to beat them was to be alert and aware. We should never share any confidential details with anyone and should immediately call our bank in such cases,” Singh said.

He also asked residents to be aware of fake coronavirus websites and the world map circulation messages which highlight cases of each country.

He said not every link was safe to open and forward as these could be a trap to hack your cell phones.

Vivek Kakar, Relationship Manager, HDFC Bank Industrial Area, confirmed that EMI deferment did not require OTP sharing. He said he had released a warning note to its customers, alerting them for this new style of cybercrime.

“For EMI postponing, the bank has send a text message to customers providing them a link through which they could themselves defer their payments for April and May. Also, they have been asked to call on the customer care number to avail the facility, but banks are not making any calls for the purpose,” he said.

In-charge, cyber crime cell, Jalandhar, Monika, said so far no such case had been reported in the city. However, residents must remain alert and never do transactions while they were on call or click on links coming from any unknown source.