Zerodha warns users of dangerous scams involving bank accounts; check tips to stay safe

Brokerage firm, Zerodha on Friday took to Twitter to warn its users of rising scams by impostors on social media that then ask their preys to transfer money.

Zerodha, in a tweet thread, explained steps of precaution that a user can take. To start with, the company suggests that a user must never interact with social media accounts of brands that are not verified with a blue tick and in times of doubt, one must always interact with the official customer care through the official phone or email.

🚨 Beware

We're seeing numerous cases of scamsters creating fake accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, etc., in the name of banks, brokers, and others. They are using these social media accounts to ask people to transfer to their bank accounts.

A few things to keep in mind.

— Zerodha (@zerodhaonline) November 25, 2022

The red flag here is the scammer asking you to transfer money to a bank account. Not just Zerodha, but any financial services company would never message or call asking to transfer money to a certain bank account. Zerodha's Kite app that is used for trading instead of asking for money, asks to add money to the app's wallet using Google Pay or net banking.

At Zerodha, we will never:

1. Ask you to transfer money to a bank account.
2. Call or message asking for account-specific information.
3. Provide advisory or portfolio management services.

— Zerodha (@zerodhaonline) November 25, 2022

Online scams are on a rise in India. Last month, as the country celebrated it biggest festivals, about 62 per cent of Indians were prey to online frauds. A study conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of NortonLifeLock found, "60% of Indian adults surveyed admit to taking more risks when online shopping during the gift-giving season than at other times of the year."

However, online scams are a global problem with every country seeing a rapid increase.