Alert For SBI Customers! Beware Of QR Code Fraud, Bank Warns Customers

In the Covid era, online banking has become an integral part of our financial transactions. However, there are chances of online frauds as well because of the increase in digital transactions. In order to prevent the customers from falling prey to online fraud, the country's largest public lender State Bank of India (SBI) has alerted its customers regarding the QR scans and urging them not to scan QR Codes shared by anyone unless the objective is to pay.

One has to be extremely cautious while performing the digital transactions online. Even though technology has made our lives easier especially in such times, but it has open the scope for online frauds.

What's the warning?

Since QR codes have become one of the increasingly popular modus operandis for fraudsters to cheat people. With increasing number of people turning to digital transactions, fraud related to the same too has been on the rise, the bank said.

"You don’t receive money when you scan a QR code. All you get is a message that your bank account is debited for an ‘X’ amount. Do not scan #QRCodes shared by anyone unless the objective is to pay. Stay alert," SBI informed through its official micro-blogging account on Twitter.

The public lender also shared a two and a half minute video explaining a situation on how scanning a QR code will actually result in debiting money from your bank account.

Here's the video for reference

Here's how you can fall prey to the scam

The video shows that the scam starts with someone putting up an item on a website for sale. It's when the fraudsters impose as buyers and shares the QR code to pay an advance or token amount. It is when the fraudster create a QR code and shares it with the SBI customer or victim.  The victim will be asked by the fraudster to scan the QR code in order to receive the balance amount directly into the bank account.

The victim, who believes the imposter ends up scanning the QR codes sent assuming that the money will be received, but instead they end up losing money.

Also, it is important to note that the QR codes need to be scanned in case of making payments and not receiving money. The bank warns customers to stay alert against such QR frauds and deny any such fraudful transaction. 

The bank asked customers not to share OTP with anyone or scan such QR codes.