What is 'Vishing' scam? Know how to avoid falling victim of this online banking fraud

The growing use of Internet banking and online transactions have made people's life easier but has given birth to new fraud called Vishing. A new form of scam which is known as ‘vishing’ targets the customers of Banks. The scamsters committing this fraud fool the bank customers to extract their confidential banking details and usually indulge in scams such as ATM card skimming and mobile SIM card swap. With number of banking users being duped, there has been a significant rise in the trend of online banking fraud across the country.

Vishing is usually performed through a phone call. Before proceeding to commit the scam, the scamster make sure that the victim has at least one active account in any bank of the country. It becomes easier for the scamster to loot victim’s money with the help of the banking details extracted.

The vishing scam can be done with the users of any bank account holder. Therefore, it is essential to know about these banking frauds:

1. Fake phone call: The bank customers or users receive a phone call from scamsters or the fraudster who may introduce himself as a representative of the respective bank.

2. Ask about bank details: The person will try and extract your bank details including your name, date of birth and mobile number will be verified pretending that the phone call seems like an official one from the respective bank itself.

3. Warning to user: The scamster may warn user that the bank has blocked the user's debit or credit card in order to unblock the same, they would need to follow the instructions. The fraudsters use different excuses to get customers' details, pretending as if, it has been mandated by the bank itself.

4. Upgradation of card: Sometimes, these scamsters ask the users to upgrade their debit or credit card, in order to receive more offers and benefits. By fooling the customers about upgradation, they ask for banking credentials.

5. Ask for credentials: The fraudster will eventually dupe the user by asking them to provide important bank account details, like customer ID or debit or credit card details in order to unblock card, upgrade services or protect your money in bank account.

6. Ask for OTP: Lastly, the caller would ask for the OTP number received on the user's mobile number to verify their service. The OTP  allows the scamster to use your debit or credit card to use it online for shopping or transferring money, resulting in losing money.

The entire procedure explained above is known as a vishing call, which is basically a way of fooling the victim and looting them. In many cases, the caller transfers the money to remote accounts in other states or remote countries to make it difficult to trace the fraudulent account.

However, banks often warn their customers replying to such mails or calls or sms as the bank representative never asks for such details from the user. Sharing such confidential information can pose you a huge risk of losing money. 

If you do get such calls quite often, the first step is to share the complaint with your bank customer support, asking for help.  Remember, online banking has eased our lives but to make sure it serves the purpose safely, we need to remain protected and educated.