AMFI's Mutual Funds Sahi Hai shares a list of dos and don'ts for investors to avoid online frauds

With online investment frauds becoming increasingly common, “Mutual Funds Sahi Hai”, an investor education initiative by AMFI, has shared a post on X urging investors to stay vigilant and follow basic safety measures to protect their mutual fund investments from online frauds.

The post highlighted that frauds can often appear ordinary and may begin with an OTP request, a suspicious link, or a random document that you are asked to sign.

Here are the key dos and don’ts to protect your investments from fraud.

What investors should do?

The post outlined several steps that investors can take to reduce the risk of fraud and keep their mutual fund investments secure.

• Update your KYC records if they are not updated yet.
• Keep registered email IDs and mobile numbers updated to receive important alerts.
• Register a nominee for all mutual fund holdings, irrespective of the mode of holding.
• Deal only with registered mutual fund distributors.

• Use the folio locking facility to prevent unauthorised transactions.
• Check your portfolio and account statements regularly for any unexpected modifications or updates by logging into trusted portals.
• Carefully review transaction alerts received through SMS or email from the asset management company (AMC) or registrar and transfer agent (RTA).
• Immediately contact the AMC or its customer care if you receive an alert for a transaction you did not initiate.

What investors should avoid?

The post also mentioned several practices that investors should avoid while managing their mutual fund investments.

• Never share OTP with anyone
• Don't invest through unregistered mutual fund distributors
• Never sign on any blank paper or forms
• Never share copies of cheque leaves, bank statements, or other important financial documents with anyone other than the AMC or RTA.
• Avoid sharing your email password or login credentials for investment websites with anyone.
• Avoid disclosing your date of birth to unknown or unauthorised persons.
• Verify the authenticity of any platform before sharing your mutual fund investment details.

It also reminded investors that AMCs and RTAs do not ask investors for OTPs or passwords, and any such request can be treated as a warning sign of a potential scam.