SBP warns citizens against scam phone calls

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GEO NEWS
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Geo.tv/Illustration

KARACHI: Pakistan's central bank has advised citizens to be on alert and refrain from providing personal information over fraudulent phone calls from scammers posing as bank officers.

In a statement, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) underscored the gravity of the matter and advised against revealing information such as "CNIC number, bank account number, password, etc. on fake calls from individuals impersonating as officials of SBP".

"Public is advised to inform such incident to law enforcement agencies and approach their banks immediately in case of any loss arising due to leakage of personal information," the directive added.

"Fraudsters," the statement stressed, are "seeking personal information regarding their deposit accounts maintained with commercial banks and threatening that their accounts will be closed or frozen in case of non-verification of their credentials".

The central bank further mentioned that the latest directive was an addition to a press release issued on August 7, 2018.

"It is reiterated that SBP/ Banks/ Micro Finance Banks do not seek personal details including PIN, CNIC number, one time password (OTP), accounts number, etc. from the account holders on telephone calls," it said.

The SBP also provided contact details should there be a need for a member of the public to "report details of these calls to SBP". The bank's officials can be reached at the helpline — 021-111-727-273 — or at the email address — [email protected].