How to avoid banking frauds on WhatsApp

You are probably using WhatsApp more than all your other apps put together. And that’s all the more reason to be careful

With over a billion users, WhatsApp is also a favourite with hackers. Here’s how you can be careful (Pixabay)

Right now, all of us are relying extensively on our smartphones and apps like WhatsApp, Zoom etc to get through this lockdown period and stay in touch with people. As far as daily messages are concerned, for a majority of the people, WhatsApp has become the mainstay.

It is fast, it is hassle free and it is convenient. And since most other people have it as well, it's far easier than asking people to download and get used to an entirely different messaging app. With over a billion users, WhatsApp is also a favourite with hackers.

The State Bank of India had warned its customers last year about an OTP scam circulating on WhatsApp. And that's one of the many cases that has happened over the years, hackers and scamsters have used a number of ways to get to unsuspecting people on the app.

While most of us are more cautious now, here are a list of things you can do to ensure that you do not fall for any scam, especially banking frauds, on this app.

1. Never send private information like your bank account details, debit/credit card PINs, Internet banking passwords, CVV codes etc to anyone on WhatsApp.

2. Do not reply to any WhatsApp message asking you for an OTP number that you might have just received. No matter how much you trust that contact and not matter how small the transaction amount might be.

3. Do not download any files or click on links sent by strangers and unknown numbers.

4. If you lose your phone, make sure you deactivate WhatsApp. You can also register on a new device immediately, this will log you out of the old phone and not one can use that WhatsApp.

5. Delete all WhatsApp chats and media data and restore your phone to factory settings if you plan to sell off your device or lend it to another person.

6. Do not respond to messages from WhatsApp, trust us, the app will never message you.

7. Ignore messages from unknown numbers.

8. Don't fall for messages that claim that they can connect your phone app to the PC and let you send messages from your laptop/desktop. Only you can activate that, you don't need a prompt.

9. Disable automatic downloads on WhatsApp. This will help you control exactly what gets downloaded and also save you data.

10. Do not use WhatsApp when you are on a public WiFi or an open WiFi network.