Chinmayi Sripaada warns against fake bill payment scam, says her family member’s bank account was emptied

The cases of online scams in India are rising at a rapid pace and every now and then, people report losing their hard-earned money to fraudsters who are experts at tricking people online. Singer Chinmayi Sripaada took to Twitter (now known as X) to reveal how one of her elder family members was scammed online, which led to their entire bank account being empty. Sripaada also cautioned people to stay safe from such scams and urged them to keep their family members, especially the elderly, safe from fraudsters.

In a tweet, Sripaada revealed that an elder member of her family fell victim to an online scam which is called the fake TNEB (Tamil Nadu Electricity Board) scam. She went on to add that her family member’s account had been emptied without sharing any OTP. All it took was a click to the link (that probably mentioned the fake bill payment) and all of their account balance was wiped off.

“I saw how The Fake TNEB-Bill-Pay Scam plays out in close quarters. An elder’s account in our family has been wiped out. It is horrible how they’re doing it when no OTP was shared. It was almost as if they could see the phone. A link was clicked and it was over. Please let every elderly person in your circle know and safeguard them," the actress wrote in her tweet.

Responding to her tweet, several Twitter users mentioned how the scam has affected them, or their near and dear ones.

A user mentioned how a retired government employee from Hyderabad faced something similar. He was sent a link on WhatsApp and as soon as he clicked the link, over 12 lakh were gone from his account within hours. The scammer, in this case, pretended to be a Tata Play employee.

“It is surprising how without an otp, secure bank servers don't obstruct a transaction of that magnitude,” the user wrote.

Another user shared how one of their friend’s bank account was emptied within hours after they clicked on a WhatsApp link from an unknown source.

In another tweet, Sripaada shared a few ways that people could ensure online safety of their elders. First, Sripaada wrote, people should discourage the elderly from giving their phone numbers that can be linked to bank accounts to merchants and shopping stores. Then, she added that elders must have a separate number for receiving bank OTPs. This number’s SIM, she added, should be put in a phone on which no other app can be downloaded in the background without their knowledge. The third way to stay safe is to have a bank account that has a balance less than Rs 10,000 for all QR code payments.