Goa, 2024: HDFC Bank hosted a virtual fraud awareness session for its employees as a part of a secure banking awareness drive. The session was to raise awareness about various types of fraudulent practices employed and further equip employees with information and skills to be more aware about such tactics.
Mr. Sundaresan M, Group Head – Retail Credit Strategy & Control and Mr. Manish Agrawal, Executive Vice President – Credit Intelligence and Control – HDFC Bank hosted the event and shared case studies to further illustrate this. The session focused on educating staff on newer types of frauds like courier scam, fake police scam, fake credit scam, among others. Also covering aspects like how to avoid opening of fraudulent accounts, prevent misuse of banking channels for money mule(s), terrorist funding, cyber frauds and money laundering activities – all with legal and reputational consequences.
The session was addressed by Mr. D. Sivanandhan, IPS (Retired), Former DGP of Maharashtra & Former Police Commissioner of Mumbai. Mr. Sivanandhan from his rich experience shared live examples on how fraudsters use emotions like greed, lust and fear to influence people that typically leads them to make a mistake. He shared insights on different types of modus operandi used by fraudsters to dupe innocent citizens.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sundaresan M said, “Today we are transacting more digitally. Hence it is important to create awareness about various modus operandi used by fraudsters and the secure banking practices that one needs to follow so that we do not become victims of online frauds. It is important to remember basics like never to click on unreliable links or give out private banking information to strangers.”
In the Financial Year 2024, HDFC Bank has conducted over 16,000 such sessions pan India and reached out to over 2,00,000 participants covering various segments of society. These workshops are aimed at educating students in schools as well as colleges, customers, law enforcement agencies, senior citizens, Self-Help Groups, vendors, partners and employees among others.
The Bank encourages customers to be cautious and adopt safe banking habits while transacting digitally and to avoid sharing their confidential banking information with anyone. In the event that a customer(s) falls prey to online fraud, they should immediately report the unauthorised transaction(s) to the bank and get the payment mode blocked for safeguarding against future losses. Customers should also file a complaint by calling 1930 helpline number started by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and submit the complaint on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal https://cybercrime.gov.in.
