HDFC Bank Customers Alert! If you Do This, You Will Lose Money to Fraudsters; Know Here

HDFC Bank Update: The HDFC Bank has shared an important update related to PAN with customers of the lender. The Permanent Address Number or PAN is a key proof of identity that is required for financial transactions, including bank work and filing tax returns. PAN is issued by the Income Tax Department and is is a ten-digit unique alphanumeric number. A PAN will be available to a user both online and in the form of a PVC card. However, like all other ID cards, PAN data is also sensitive. This can make fraudsters to use someone’s PAN to scam them by sending fake SMS. The HDFC Bank has alerted customers regarding this.

“#GoDigitalGoSecure and never click on unknown links asking you to update your PAN card details,” the HDFC Bank, India’s largest private sector lender, said in a tweet recently.

The lender issued this warning as scammers often try to make people fall into their trap by sending an SMS to a customer’s registered mobile number pretending to be that from the bank. In that SMS, scammers typically ask customers to update their PAN, or unblock an account using sensitive details. Since bank accounts are important, and blocking them means not being able to access them, many customers fall prey to this and click on the fake links provided in the SMS, which may result in the scammers looting their money.

To battle this, the HDFC Bank has issued this warning. In an image incorporated with the tweet, the bank said that it would never ask customers to share confidential details in a text. This is a norm for every financial institution and they do not ask to share information over text or call. They typically send an SMS via their official number, and the link that is provided in the SMS is that of an official website. As for HDFC Bank customers, they will get an SMS from the official number 186161 or ID HDFCBK/HDFCBN. The SMS, if accompanied with any link, will always contain links  from the official domain hdfcbk.io, the bank has said in its warning.

The HDFC Bank warning also comes at a time when financial frauds are rampant. The tweet also incorporates a link to a document released by the Reserve Bank of India to prevent financial frauds. Titled ‘BE(A)WARE – Be Aware and Beware!’ the RBI booklet lists an array of methods that scammers typically follow and advises bank customers how to get over them. “Do not click on unknown / unverified links and immediately delete such SMS / email sent by

unknown sender to avoid accessing them by mistake in future,” it says.

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