Online fraud is becoming more common in today's environment, where digital transactions are the standard. Scammers are becoming smarter. They use ingenious tactics to fool individuals and steal their money, such as sending false emails, creating fraudulent websites, and utilizing hidden software to acquire sensitive information such as credit card numbers and passwords. A new scamming tactic is on the rise, as reported by a Bengaluru woman named Aditi Chopra.

Ms Chopra recounted an instance on X, in which she narrowly avoided becoming a target of a financial fraud that targets foolish people via SMS. She described how she was in the middle of an office call when she received a call from "an elderly-sounding guy" who claimed to need to transfer funds to her father. 

The man added in Hindi, "Aditi, dear, I needed to send money to your father, but he was not available, so he requested me to do it for you. Could you please confirm that this is your phone number? 

He reported complications with his bank account and wanted Aditi's assistance in receiving the money. Ms Chopra got SMS alerts right after the call, which appeared to confirm that money had been sent to her account. 

Ms Chopra discovered that the SMS notifications did not originate from a reputable bank but from a 10-digit phone number. She noticed the red signals and stated, "Of course, when I called back in a minute after checking my accounts, I was blocked."

Ms Chopra advised others to be aware of such scams, saying, "Always verify your actual bank account on another device and never rely on any SMS. "That system is extremely gameable."