The festival of lights Diwali is just a few days ahead and you might have saved a big amount to use that on this auspicious occasion. However, you should really be on the alert as fraudsters can siphon away your money if you make mistakes and fall prey to their attacks. You must be careful about how you carry out your banking transactions as otherwise you will open yourself up to attack from all areas. 

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The criminal trend that is rising fast is Vishing (or voice phishing). It leads you to divulge all the secret details regarding your accounts. You may get a phone call in case of Vishing. The caller may request you to enter your confidential details like Card number, PIN, CVV on the interactive voice response (IVR) system or may directly ask you for details on the pretext of verifying your credit/debit card. The person will convince you he is from a bank or other financial institution and you may be fooled into divulging the details.

This being Diwali, gives these scammers a great opportunity and they have found this lucrative way to steal your money. You may receive a call and the caller may tell you that seeing your good past transaction record on your credit card, the bank is sending you some gifts. Then he will ask you to confirm your identity on the pretext of verifying that he is actually talking to the original owner of the card. Once done, he will then ask for your card details and that's it. If you have revealed your confidential details for the imaginary gifts he has offered, then he can siphon the money off your card or account immediately.

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If you get any such calls, make sure do not to share your details. Also, you can report the incident to your bank or nearest police station.

Recently, State Bank of India has warned its customers against such frauds.  SBI has listed out some Do's and Don'ts that you must follow:

Dos

* Use verified/trusted browsers
* Use 'https' secured websites for payments
* Transfer money to know beneficiaries
* Verify amount for debit/credit card transactions

Don'ts

* Transacting through public devices/open and free networks
* Sharing passwords, OTPs, PINs, CVV, UPI PIN, etc
* Storing banking credentials on your phone
* Sharing your card and card details with others

Some other things that you should keep in your minds are:

* Get message alert enabled for every transaction
* If you suspect any fraudulent transaction, cross check it with the bank and report the matter to the police
* Do not click on the unknown/suspicious links received via text message/mail
* Do not download any unknown/suspicious files or the attachments