The number of frauds in the banking sector has increased significantly in the last few years. To protect customers against scams, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has time and again come up with various guidelines and to-do lists. What are things you need to keep in mind to safeguard yourself and your hard-earned money from fraudsters? Find out here.
1) Activate instant alerts to safeguard from fraud
thing that you must do is to activate instant alerts for all banking transactions. You can register your mobile number and e-mail your bank to get an instant alert. If you register your phone number with your bank account, you will mandatorily get SMS alerts. If your e-mail is registered, you will get a mail as well for every transaction. It will keep you aware of all transactions related to your bank account credit card or loan accounts. In case of fraud when you get an alert for an unauthorised transaction, you can immediately inform the bank. Getting an alert on time can play a crucial role to minismise your financial loss in frauds or scams. Do remember the longer you take to notify the bank about a fraud, the higher will be the risk of your loss.
2) Don’t share OTP, PIN, or CVV with anyone
Next, you should not share your mobile banking passwords, PIN, OTP, CVV, or card details with anyone.
3) Keep bank contact details handy
Most banks provide 24×7 access to customers through multiple channels such as via website, phone banking, SMS, e-mail, IVR, a dedicated toll-free helpline, etc., for reporting unauthorised transactions that have taken place or loss or theft of payment instruments such as card, etc. You must keep the contact details of your bank handy. You can save it on your phone.
What to do after you inform your bank about a fraud?
When you inform your bank about a fraudulent transaction, you should ask for an acknowledgment from the lender. The bank should resolve your complaint within 90 days from the date of receiving the complaint.
You bear no loss in a fraud: Know when customers have zero liability in a banking scam
“You bear no loss, if you have not shared your payment details and if the bank is informed within three days,” as per the RBI website.
On this, the central bank says that the customer has zero liability where the unauthorised transaction occurs in the following events, as per the RBI websit:
1) Contributory fraud/negligence/deficiency on the part of the bank (irrespective of whether or not the transaction is reported by the customer).
2) Third party breach where the deficiency lies neither with the bank nor with the customer but lies elsewhere in the system, and the customer notifies the bank within three working days of receiving the communication from the bank regarding the unauthorised transaction.
Don’t delay notifying bank about frauds
If you delay informing the bank about the financial fraud, you may have to take the brunt of it. The customer has to take limited liability if the responsibility for the unauthorised electronic banking transaction lies neither with the bank nor with the customer but lies elsewhere in the system and there is a delay (of four to seven working days after receiving the communication from the bank) on the part of the customer in notifying the bank of such a transaction.
