Govt Alerts About Fake SMS Fraud Targeting SBI Customers; Know What To Do If You Are A Victim

The Press Information Bureau (PIB) put out a warning last week to State Bank of India (SBI) customers not to reply to fake SMS alerts which were requesting their personal and banking information, promising to unblock their accounts. 

“A message in circulation claiming that your @TheOfficialSBI account has been blocked is #FAKE," tweeted PIB.

These types of cyber attacks are called phishing/smishing attacks, and not only SBI but every other banking, financial and other application customers can fall prey to it.

Click here to know more about the five ways in which you can protect yourself from cyber attacks while transacting online.

What You Should Know About Phishing/Smishing/Fraud Attacks

In this latest cyber hacking attempt, fraudsters sent out fraudulent SMS alerts. The SMS read, “Dear Customer, Your SBI bank documents have expired, please click here to update it.” 

Some SMSes may even ask for other details like Netbanking password, debit or credit card OTP (one-time password) or other crucial details. Some smart tricks employed by hackers also include inducing greed by saying that you have won Rs X and to receive the money in your bank account you would need to share the OTP.

However, remember that bank officials are not authorised to ask for private and confidential banking information like password, OTP and others from any customer over mobile networks like SMS, embed links or other ways. “State Bank or any of its representatives never sends you email/SMS or calls you over phone to get your personal information, password or one time SMS (high security) password,” says an excerpt on SBI website.

What Should You Do If You Are A Victim?

If you are the victim of this recently ongoing SBI customer phishing attack, then immediately drop a mail narrating the entire incident to report.phising@sbi.co.in.

Apart from this, block your debit or credit card too. You can also do this online by going to www.onlinesbi.com, logging in with your user ID and password, and then selecting card services. Thereafter, you should select your account and click on the e-services tab. Navigate to the block card banner.

You can also call up any of the SBI helpline numbers (1800-11-1109, 94491 12211, 080-2659-9990) directly to report about any unauthorised electronic transaction. You can also email SBI customer support at customercare@sbi.co.in and contactcentre@sbi.co.in. 

What Should You Do If You Are A Customer Of Another Bank?

Every bank has a dedicated customer care department and a department that deals with customer security. You can find out more information about this by directly asking about it from the branch or by visiting its website. 

For example, Axis Bank customers can call up 1860-419-5555 / 1860-500-5555 to report fraudulent bank transactions. HDFC Bank customers can call 1800 202 6161 / 1860 267 6161 or drop an email at cybercell@payzapp.in to report fraudulent transactions.

There is also a National Cyber Crime helpline that you can call at 1930 for additional help in cyber hacking situations.