Guwahati: HDFC has organized over 16,600 workshops across India sensitizing over 2,00,224 citizens on safe digital banking practices, the bank said in a statement on Thursday.

"These workshops were aimed at educating school and college students, law enforcement agencies, senior citizens, self-help groups, customers, and employees", the bank said, adding that participants gained valuable insights on safe digital banking practices so that they don’t fall prey to "cyber fraud."

The workshops included real-life examples, stories, and videos that helped participants understand various techniques employed by fraudsters and tips on how to stay safe from such fraud. HDFC has been conducting similar initiatives over the past four years.

Detailed discussions were held explaining common cyber threats like vishing, phishing, smishing, remote device access, SIM swap, and UPI frauds. Real-life examples were used to deepen understanding. Secure net banking and shopping tips, along with preventive measures against fraud were also imparted to the participants.

Attendees were urged not to divulge sensitive information such as OTPs, CVVs, Debit/Credit card credentials, and UPI PINs.

“It is essential to create awareness among the citizens so that they do not share confidential banking data or click on unverified links", Manish Agrawal, executive vice president of credit intelligence and control, HDFC bank, said, The objective of these workshops is to educate participants on various modus operandi used by fraudsters and the secure banking practices that they need to follow so that they do not become victims of such online frauds."

The bank has encouraged its customers to be cautious and adopt safe banking habits while transacting digitally and avoid sharing their confidential banking information with anyone. "In case customers fall prey to online fraud, they should immediately report unauthorized transactions to the bank and get the payment mode blocked for safeguarding against future losses", it said in a statement.

Customers should also file a complaint by calling the 1930 helpline number started by ministry of home affairs (MHA) and submit the complaint on the cybercrime reporting portal https://cybercrime.gov.in.

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