Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Police have warned people not to fall victim to a new scam in the guise of KYC (know your customer) updation by banks. According to the police, fake messages with links are sent to the mobile phones of bank customers purportedly from the banks, for updating their KYC details.

The customers are directed to click on the link within a specified time to update their KYC. The messages also claim that failure to follow the instructions before the time mentioned would lead to the loss of the customer’s account and money.

Once customers click on the link and provide the bank-related and personal data sought, an OTP will be received on their phone. Soon, fraudsters posing as bank officials would contact the customers for the OTP. The customers who share the OTP with the fraudsters would lose the money from their accounts.

After the scam came to their notice, the police issued a warning, which said that people receiving such messages should neither click on the links nor contact the phone number given in these messages.

“If you have suspicions regarding any message purportedly from a bank, contact the bank directly and ensure its authenticity. Do not click on the link or call the phone numbers given in such suspicious messages under any circumstances,” said the police in a Facebook post.

The post also said that complaints regarding cyber frauds should be immediately reported to the phone number 1930. “There are high chances of getting back the swindled money if the complaint is filed within one hour after the fraud is committed,” the police added.