Hello all,
I’m sure you all would have come across this word - PHISHING. But how many of you are aware of what exactly it means and how to stay away from it?
Phishing is basically when someone uses email, text, phone calls, or other such methods to try and obtain your banking details. For instance, fraudsters often use phishing emails to get bank account details from their victims so they can perform money transfers from your bank account to the fraudsters bank account.
So, how can you identify if you’re being phished?
a) If it is Net Banking related, always first identify if the website you’re logging into has an SSL Certificate, meaning, check if it has a Green Padlock or https before the domain of the website. The SSL Certificate also must be issued in the name of the bank. For example: If you’re logging into Equitas Net Banking portal, the SSL Certificate must be issued to Equitas Small Finance Bank. If you see any other names such as Let’s Encrypt or Cloudflare, etc for a website that looks like a net banking portal, stay away from it!
b) Check the URL properly. For a Net Banking portal of a particular bank, the URL will be in the name of the bank. For example: If you’re logging into Equitas Bank Net banking portal, the URL must be https://equitasbank.com. If you find that the main domain of the URL is not named after the bank or the URL you’re trying to login to is a subdomain, for example: https://equitasbank.xyzabc.com , then stay away from that particular website.
c) No one will ask for any OTPs or Debit Card/Credit Card details like Card number, CCV code or Expiry date and never share these details even if asked by anyone (even the bank employees). Make sure that no one has access to your Card except you. Never save your card details or Net Banking details such as usernames and passwords or profile passcodes in the photo gallery, email accounts, notebooks, etc.
d) If you suspect any irregular activities in your bank account or credit card, immediately contact the customer service of your bank of the call centre number mentioned on the back side of your card, inform them about the issue and make sure you deactivate the card on priority!
Experienced any other PHISHING methods? Drop it in the comments and let’s spread some awareness.