Team Herald
PANJIM: Goa Police has asked citizens to be cautious of fake calls on EMI postponement, a trend which is witnessing a surge in different parts of the country as miscreants are taking advantage of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A new modus operandi of ‘Vishing fraud’ is noticed wherein phone calls are made to public on the pretext of postponement of their EMIs and under this pretext the Debit/Credit card details, PIN and OTP are obtained.
What is a ‘Vishing Fraud’? It is the fraudulent practice of making phone calls or leaving voice messages purporting to be from reputable companies especially banks or any financial instruction, in order to induce individuals to reveal confidential information, such as bank details Debit Card/ Credit Card details etc,” advisory by Goa Police’s Cyber Cell states.
The department has advised people to not share any card details, bank details, PIN or OTP with anyone, as a precaution to stay away from the fraud. “Be alert and be safe from cyber criminals,” it said.
Herald spoke to an officer to enquire if there had been any such cases reported in Goa, to which he replied in negative. “No case has come to the fore in Goa as yet but it is reported in different parts of the country. The advisory is a precautionary step to not fall prey to such frauds,” the officer added.
