Airtel KYC fraud case: Airtel CEO warns customers against online scams; here's how to save yourself

New Delhi: Scammers never seem to stop coming up with new ways to deceive unsuspecting clients. They're out hunting again, but this time it's in the name of Airtel. Under the pretext of Airtel KYC service, a new scam has been circulating that requests all bank details as a remedy to a fictitious problem. The swindle has already claimed the lives of a few unsuspecting users who have fallen victim to the con artists.

Gopal Vittal, the CEO of Airtel, has contacted his customers to alert them about an issue that has purportedly victimised a few innocent people. He emphasises that neither Airtel nor any of its bank partners will ever contact a consumer and ask for personal information, particularly over the phone.

Airtel CEO warns about KYC fraud

“The customers can get calls or messages from the fraudster claiming to be from a bank or financial institution and ask for account details or an OTP to unblock or renew the existing bank account. The details are then used to withdraw money from the customer’s bank account. I urge you therefore to pay heed and proceed with care and do not share any financial or personal information like customer ID, MPIN, OTP, etc over the phone,” said Vittal in an email to his customers

Vittal also cautioned customers against being duped by scammers who provide links to download a bogus bank app or anything similar. These con artists frequently impersonate Airtel personnel in order to trick you into providing your credentials.

“If a customer downloads one of these, he will be asked to enter all his bank details as well as his MPIN thereby granting the fraudster in question complete access to your bank details. Please avoid such suspicious websites and apps and avoid sharing any confidential information via email or through a click on any suspicious link in the email, even if the request seems to be from authorities like the Income Tax Department, Visa, or MasterCard, etc,” Vittal elaborated.

Here's how to stay safe from scamsters:

- Do not give out your bank account information over the phone. Net banking passwords, net banking IDs, any unconfirmed OTPs, and IFSC codes are all examples of this.

Do not click on any caller's shared links. Malware can be found in links.

- Make no payments to any customer service agent for a telecom firm, bank, or other institution using UPI.