ICICI Bank account holder? Alert! Here is an online fraud warning for you

If you are an ICICI Bank account holder, then you should be careful about what you do on your phone. The bank has raised a strong warning about online fraud.

Most of the world has increasingly turned to digital transactions and the same applies to banking too. While the rising number of such transactions indicates widespread acceptance of the medium across all strata, there is no denying the fact that even a little bit of carelessness on the part of bank account holders can result in enormous losses. With that in mind, ICICI Bank has rolled out a warning for its clients about online fraud indicating what they should watch out for and what they must never do to safeguard their money. The point that is underscored here is that if the account holders themselves are careless, there is not much anything that others can do to save them from theft and losses.

An ICICI Bank account holder must be careful about the links received via WhatsApp, email or other means. The bank says these may well lead to online fraud. (REUTERS)

ICICI Bank has warned that everyone should be very careful about how they handle malicious links they may see on their smartphones or other devices on apps like WhatsApp or even their mail IDs. The bank says no one should click on these links as they may be part of elaborate online fraud schemes. In case anyone actually does click on these links, they may end up downloading malicious software or apps that will then proceed to steal money from their accounts.

In an emailed statement to its customers, ICICI Bank said, “Remain vigilant and ensure that you do not install any suspicious/malicious application in your mobile from untrustworthy sources.”

Considering that many people get confused when they get messages from some very authentic-looking sources, ICICI Bank added that it never sends any SMS/WhatsApp message to its customers. The bank also reiterated that it never asks account holders to call a particular mobile number or download any app either.

Such frauds are carried out through what is known as APK files. After customers download these malicious files or click on the wrong links, messages can be redirected and even OTPs can be compromised.

So, what is the best thing for bank customers to do? Never click on links whose source they are not sure of and not divulge any personal details including usernames, passwords and OTPs to anyone at all.