Ashish Ranjan Maurya, CEO of KitabKopy.com, took to LinkedIn to share an experience with online phishing scams after receiving an email stating his account had been debited for Rs. 8,39,239 after a cheque purportedly issued by him had been cleared.
Maurya, on Wednesday, described receiving an email that, at first glance, appeared to be an official communication from HDFC Bank. The email featured the familiar logo, was written in a professional tone, and was in the typical formatting people generally expect from a reputed financial institution.
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However, Maurya noticed a subtle, but critical difference on observing it closely. The sender's address was info@hdfcbank-india.com, rather than the official @hdfcbank.com domain.
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The email claimed the cheque purportedly issued by him for Rs. 8,39,239 had been cleared, and even included an attachment masquerading as a 'payment receipt'. Maurya admitted that the email looked so realistic that it could easily mislead even the most vigilant recipient.
In a post on LinkedIn, Maurya wrote, "Phishing Alert! Received an email that looked exactly like it was from HDFC Bank ā same logo, same format, same professional tone ā everything was identical. Only one small difference: the sender's email was info@hdfcbank-india.com instead of @hdfcbank.com. The email mentioned a cheque of ā¹8,39,239 being cleared and even attached a āpayment receipt." [sic]
Maurya expressed shock at how convincing these phishing emails had become.
"It's honestly shocking how convincing these phishing emails have become," Maurya wrote in his post, tagging HDFC Bank and urging authorities to create awareness among customers on how they could verify the authenticity of such emails, and the steps being taken by the bank to curb the spread of spam.
"Tagging HDFC Bank ā would love to know how customers can easily verify whether such emails are genuine or fake, and what steps are being taken to control such spam."
Maurya concluded his post with a call to action, "Let's keep spreading awareness ā double-check before you click or download anything!" [sic]
It should be noted that financial institutions, including HDFC Bank, regularly urge customers never to disclose confidential information such as OTPs or account details via email or phone.
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