Trap 11. ‘Share ID, OTP, Password, Other Facts’

Being cautious in the pursuit of wealth is of utmost importance. One of the most glaring red flags during this journey has to do with someone asking you to share your ID, password, OTP, or other sensitive information. Sharing these will allow a fraudster to breach your financial security as these are usually a key to your financial accounts.

And the number of people who have lost substantial amounts of money due to this negligence, is huge. Though people are now relatively more aware, especially in the bigger cities, it’s still crucial to be careful as scammers often use different ploys to obtain such information. They may pretend to be genuine representatives from banks, financial institutions, and even the government. They conjure a convincing story and create a false sense of urgency. For instance, they may call and tell you that there is something wrong with your account and that you have to act fast, and in doing so, trick you into sharing these credentials.

Says Biju Punnachalil, GM-chief risk officer, South Indian Bank, Cochin Branch, Cochin: “You should never give your OTP, ID, and passwords to anyone because all of these are sensitive credentials that could be used to access personal accounts and sensitive data. Any person can then enter your bank accounts, email, social media, and other personal services, impersonate you and make transactions, or steal your identity and change your passwords, or use this account with other  malicious intent.”