KYC update scam

How it works

An SMS or call says your bank account, card or SIM will be blocked today unless you update KYC through a link or an app.

Red flags

• !A deadline of hours: “blocked today”, “suspended within 24 hours”.
• !A link, or an app file to install, inside an SMS or WhatsApp message.
• !The message comes from an ordinary mobile number.
• !The web address is not your bank’s own, even if the bank’s name appears in it.
• !You are asked for an OTP, card number, CVV or PIN to “complete KYC”.

Example

Real KYC is done in the bank’s own app or at a branch, never through a link in a message.

This is an illustration of the pattern, not a copy of a real message. Real ones vary in wording.

What to do

1. 01Do not tap the link and do not install anything it offers.
2. 02Open your bank’s own app, or type the bank’s address yourself, to see if anything is actually pending.
3. 03If you already entered details, call your bank on the number on your card and block the card and net banking.
4. 04If you installed an app from the link, remove it and change your banking passwords from another device.
5. 05If money has gone, call 1930 immediately.

Where to report

• Your bank

  Call the number printed on the back of your card or shown in your bank’s own app, and ask them to block the card or account and dispute the transaction.

• Call 1930

  The national cyber-fraud helpline. If money has left your account, call straight away — the sooner it is reported, the better the chance of the money being frozen.

  Call 1930

• National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal

  File a complaint online at cybercrime.gov.in. Keep the acknowledgement number it gives you.

  Open cybercrime.gov.in

• Sanchar Saathi (Chakshu)

  Report the suspicious call, SMS or WhatsApp number to the Department of Telecommunications, even if you lost nothing.

  Open sancharsaathi.gov.in