SBI customers alert! Stay safe from fraudsters, lock your SBI net banking access

The coronavirus crisis is being used by malicious elements to spread panic among people and loot their money. There has been an increase of 667 per cent in phishing attacks in India in the month of March itself, Barracuda Networks has reported. Barracuda researchers have seen three main types of phishing attacks using coronavirus COVID-19 themes — scamming, brand impersonation, and business email compromise.

Some time ago, many customers of ICICI Bank were at the receiving end of a fraud too when money was withdrawn from their accounts after cloning their ATM cards. The incidents happened in Mumbai. All the cards were bearing the EMV chip.  

Internet banking is being preferred by bank customers these days which exposes them to further threats, especially in urban areas. Cybercriminals even use different methods to access internet banking details of users. India's largest public sector bank, State Bank of India, however, has a feature that allows customers to stay safe. 

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The bank on its official website - onlinesbi, says "For better control & security of your account, you can lock or unlock your INB access through link 'Lock & Unlock User' available in Home/Login Page." Notably, the feature can only be used by retail users and not corporate users.

How to lock SBI internet banking access

1. Go to SBI official website - onlinesbi.com.

2. Look for the option that says 'Lock & Unlock User'.

3. Provide details like internet banking username, account number and captcha code. 

4. from the drop-down menu, select the option 'Lock user access'.

5. Read the terms & conditions and click on OK for verification.

6. An OTP (one-time password) will be sent to your registered mobile number and email ID.

7. Enter the correct OTP to lock your internet banking access. 

Later on you can unlock the access by 'onlinesbi' website or via bank's branch. For this, you need to visit the home branch. There are no charges for unlocking the internet banking facility from your home branch.