OTP fraud is one of the common frauds to which a lot of people have lost lakhs of rupees. The main reason why many people lose money to OTP fraud is due to lack of awareness. People are still not aware of the fact that One Time Password (OTP) must not be shared with anyone.
If you share OTPs sent to you by your bank, fraudsters can easily withdraw money from your bank account. OTP's are something which must be kept secret and not shared with anyone.
See Also: Don't lose your money to this OTP fraud
There are two common ways in which OTPs are stolen:
1. In the first method, victims are somehow tricked to give up their OTP's on phone calls, emails, and SMS.
2. Another method used by fraudsters to steal OTP is; they design software to corrupt or gain access to a mobile to gets the OTP’s.
In the process of stealing OTPs, fraudsters call up the victims and trick them:
1. Renewing debit or credit cards
Under this, fraudsters call up innocent people by claiming to be from the bank and tell them that their credit or debit cards must be renewed immediately; to avoid getting them blocked. In order to renew, victims will be asked to provide their card details and OTP.
2. Updating KYC
Under this, victims will be sent an SMS or email containing links requesting the users to update the KYC. When the victim opens that link; he will be asked to provide certain details including the OTP.
3. Reward points or cashbacks
Under this trick, fraudsters call innocent people saying they are eligible for cashbacks or they have unused reward points. In order to claim these points, they will be asked to provide the OTP.
1. Do not share your OTP with anyone
Your OTPs are meant to be a secret, so you must never share your OTP with anyone over calls, SMS or emails. No banks or reputed companies will call asking for the OTP.
2. You don't require OTP for receiving money
OTP is required only when you are sending money, not while receiving money. Many people have been cheated by fraudsters who claim that they need to share OTPs for receiving money into their bank accounts.
3. Do not download suspicious apps on your phone
Fraudsters use fake apps to steal OTPs from your phone. You must be careful while downloading any apps on your phone. Download apps only from the reputed app stores and make sure to do a thorough background check.
4. Contact genuine customer care numbers
If you want to contact the customer support team of any company; make sure the number you are dialing is genuine. This is because fraudsters have set up many fake customer support teams with the intention of collecting personal information like card details and OTP. So, you must never rely on the customer support number which comes up on Google. Instead, you must visit the official website of the company and collect the customer support team details.
See Also: How to protect yourself from OTP theft?
Not happy with a product or service? Just visit IndianMoney.com’s complaint portal IamCheated.com and post your issue. We’ll get in touch with the concerned entity and help you with the resolution. With an aim to spread awareness on fraudulent activities, we publish articles and videos on a regular basis. You can also publish reviews about companies on IamCheated.com.
