India / SBI warns customers of lottery scam running via WhatsApp

New Delhi: India’s largest public sector bank, the State Bank of India (SBI), issued a warning to its customer to remain wary of calls and messages on WhatsApp.

Scamsters are using fake lottery schemes or customer gift offers to try and obtain account information.

“Cybercriminals are waiting for just one mistake — please do not trust such fake callers or forwarded messages,” said the advisory.

In its tweet, SBI announced that cyber criminals are now targeting customers via WhatsApp calls and messages. The warning is for an ongoing scam where fraudsters are calling SBI customers and informing them about winning a lottery. Customers are then asked to contact an SBI number to find out more about the supposed lottery they won.

“Please be aware that SBI never calls for personal or account specific information through Email/SMS/Call/WhatsApp Calls,” SBI wrote in its warning to customers.

This isn't the first warning that the banking behemoth has issued. Earlier this month, SBI also asked customers to be on the lookout for fraudulent phishing emails.

As more people shift to digital payments to maintain contact-less during the coronavirus pandemic, there has been a surge in cyber threats — especially in the digital finance space.

SBI’s policy is to fully compensate for any fraud that takes place due to the bank's fault. However, in case the loss is due to the customer's negligence, they will not get a refund.

Here’s how protect yourself from banking scams on WhatsApp:

Be aware that SBI never calls or asks for personal or account specific information through WhatsApp or emails.

There are no lottery schemes or lucky customer gift offers going on.

Don’t share banking information over WhatsApp messages or calls under any circumstances.

Keep your ATM PIN and other sensitive details only to yourself.

Double check the URL before clicking on it to make sure it’s the official ID. Better yet, type in the bank’s official URL into the address bar yourself.

Make sure you have a strong password on your net banking account.

Make sure your device and browser are up to date.

Don’t log in using public Wi-Fi.