With the continuous and rapid rise of digitisation, this boon often turns into a bane when people are hit with cyber frauds and scams in unimaginable ways. Especially due to the pandemic since the past couple of years, there has simply been no stoppage in the online cyber frauds and scams that have been hitting not just people who are transacting online through digital payments, but even those who are involved in the process of taking loans.
Just one instance of your carelessness can harm your finances and wipe out all savings. And when it comes to taking loans, whether it’s from a bank, NBFC or fintech like Earlysalary, there are lots of scamsters waiting to disguise themselves as lenders, and instead of lending you money, they grab all your money from your bank accounts. And you are left only with regret & worry.
From UPI, credit card, debit card, net banking to your loan enquiries and applications, scamsters are eyeing you everywhere in this digital world, literally.
Not that it was not present earlier, but it’s rising at a rapid pace nowadays with the rising adoption of digital modes for everything related to finance.
Although lenders like Mpokket make their best attempts to give a secure journey and experience to applicants and consumers, these scams and frauds during loans can happen to anyone, no matter how big or small the lender is or how cautious the customer was.
That’s why it doesn’t become prudent to have knowledge about the common types of scams and cyber frauds taking place in the loan space so that when you apply for a loan with lenders like Mpokket and Earlysalary, you can be aware of what to do and what not to do in order to avoid being scammed. So let’s deep dive a bit and understand them.
The immense popularity of various social media platforms has been both a boon and bane. Although it indeed turns out to be helpful in many aspects of life and is even a source of livelihood for many, it’s full of fraudsters who find some way or the other to take away your money.
When you are surfing through social media platforms, you may often come across various profiles or pages that claim to be the source of the loan by disguising as a lender. This is especially true not only for banks and NBFCs but even relatively new branches of lending, i.e. fintech. Many scamsters disguise themselves as new digital lender and trick you into believing that they are the authentic and original ones.
So don’t get fooled when they want your information on the pretext of giving you a loan. Visit the website of Earlysalary or download their app when in need of a loan.
Beware of phishing attempts.
This is undoubtedly one of the most widely-used malpractices to steal your money on the pretext of lending you. In phishing attempts, the target user is tricked into either handing over or entering their sensitive personal information such as bank account number, account passwords, PIN and debit and/or credit card information etc. And once they grab your details, they are well-positioned to have multiple ways to steal your money.
Common ways of phishing include sending unauthorised messages or emails, calls or even disguising themselves as trustworthy entities like government officers, bank employees etc., aiming to give you a loan.
So, you can avoid becoming prey to such phishing attempts by not clicking any random or unfamiliar link or handing over information to unknown sources. Ensure to visit the original website or app of Mpokket when you need a loan. If you feel doubtful about anything, don’t go ahead with it; after all, it is your hard-earned money and personal details that are at stake.
Remember, most phishing attempts can be failed by not giving in to their demands and remaining cautious. And when thinking of taking an instant personal loan or salary advance loan from Earlysalary, ensure you do not believe any app or website to be the original one, and carefully scroll through all the details mentioned on the website to be assured of the originality and be cautious even when downloading the right app or getting the loan applied from reliable online financial portals.
Screen mirroring malpractice
As the rising trend of work-from-home is becoming the new normal in the world, scamsters are digging out newer ways to fraud you by using the latest technology. All your latest smart TVs, mobile phones etc., are the targets of screen mirroring. This can either be done as a random pop up on your phone screen, which you end up clicking and giving tons of unknown permissions, or it may be disguised as an app and keeps mirroring whatever you do on your phone. Hence, a plethora of information gets stolen from your phone or other devices, which falls prey to the scam.
Therefore, not only should you be careful when using the latest technology in laptops, smart TV, mobile etc., but also ensure to only download authentic and verified apps like Mpokket and Earlysalary when in need of a loan.
Other Scams
Besides all these ways to scam you, especially when transacting money or in need of funds, another way adopted by hackers isby sending you the notification of “request money” links. Once the link is clicked by you, even out of curiosity or mistakenly, the customer ends up authorising the transaction, and in no time, your bank account gets emptied!
As far as loan scam ways through OTP or UPI PIN etc. are concerned, it is done when the customer makes a transaction through the digital payment app, and during OTP authentication, the fraudster or scammer quietly slips in a message with a random OTP. And the customer does not pay much attention and just mentions that pin without noticing the source of it.
Hence, it’s advisable to never share confidential details such as your UPI PIN, OTP, etc. with anyone and even when entering your PIN or OTP during transactions related to loan apps like Mpokket, remember that such apps and lenders do not require any of your confidential information, especially without your permission or consent. No matter how much every lender and financial institution tries to ensure to keep you away from scams and cyber frauds, especially with those who are in dire need of funds and hence in a more vulnerable situation, it is all about how prudently you act and make sure that you don’t share your personal information or get tricked into some fake loan scheme.
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