HDFC Bank, India’s leading private sector Bank, as a part of digital banking awareness drive, conducted series of cyber fraud awareness workshops pan India. Since April 2025, the Bank organised over 4,000 workshops sensitising over 27,000 citizens on safe digital banking practices.
These workshops are aimed at educating school and college students, senior citizens, self-help groups, customers and employees. Through these interactive sessions, participants gained valuable insights on safe digital banking practices so that they don’t fall prey to cyber frauds. The workshops included real life examples, stories and videos which helped participants understand various modus operandi used by fraudsters and tips on how to stay safe from such frauds. Many of these sessions were conducted in collaboration with Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs).
The workshop covered an array of pertinent topics:
1. Understanding Fraudster Tactics: The sessions explained how fraudsters manipulate victims using fear, urgency, greed, or requests for help. Real-life examples were shared to highlight common cyber threats such as Digital Arrest, Investment Scam, APK Frauds, Phishing, Smishing, Vishing, SIM Swap, Remote access scam, UPI fraud, etc.
2. Practical Secure Banking Tips: The workshops spotlighted the importance of adopting safe banking practices, featuring Vigil Aunty as a relatable awareness ambassador, and reinforced simple but powerful tips to help customers protect themselves.
3. Guidelines to Avoid Falling Victim: Attendees were advised never to share sensitive personal information, never to click suspicious links, and to avoid downloading APK files or attachments received via email, SMS, or WhatsApp—especially those impersonating government officials, banks, or other institutions.
Commenting on this Mr. Manish Agrawal, Senior Executive Vice President – Credit Intelligence and Control, HDFC Bank said, “Fraudsters are increasingly using social engineering tactics coupled with technology to mislead and exploit customers. Hence it is essential to create an awareness among the citizens about various modus operandi used by them, so that they do not share confidential banking data or click on unverified links. The objective of these workshops is to educate participants on secure banking practices that they need to follow so that they do not become victims of such online frauds. Always ‘Pause’, ‘Think’ and ‘Verify’ before taking any action.”
The Bank encourages customers to be cautious and adopt safe banking habits while transacting digitally and avoid sharing their confidential banking information with anyone. In case customers fall prey to online fraud, they should immediately report unauthorized transactions to the bank and get the payment mode blocked for safeguarding against future losses. Customers should also file a complaint by calling 1930 helpline number started by ministry of home affairs (MHA) and submit the complaint on National Cybercrime Reporting Portal https://cybercrime.gov.in.