HDFC Bank customers complain of phishing activities on account after bank denies data breach claim

HDFC bank has denied the recent claims of data breach report which claimed that data of over 6 lakhs customers have been leaked on dark web.

Personal information of around 6 lakh customers of the India-based HDFC Bank has allegedly been leaked by hackers on a popular cybercriminal forum, a report by Privacy stated.

However, replying to a news report, the bank denied all the claims and said, “We wish to state that there is no data leak at HDFC Bank and our systems have not been breached or accessed in any unauthorised manner. We remain confident of our systems. However we treat the matter of our customers data security with utmost seriousness and we continue to monitor bank systems and our ecosystems to ensure highest standards of data security and safety.”

The report by privacy claimed that on 6 March, a popular hacker forum claimed to have database allegedly belonging to HDFC Bank. It further stated that the cyber criminals provided data samples while demanding money for the full database. The hacker alleged that the database of customer has data from May 2022-March 2023.

As per the report, the hackers claimed they had sensitive customer data such as full name, date of birth, phone number, email address, physical address, employment information, credit scores, loan information, and more.

The Privacy Affairs also stated that it reviewed the samples which were posted on the hacker forum and said that the data appeared to be genuine.

Though the bank has denied claims of data breach, customers on the private lenders official channel, HDFC Bank Cares, have posted of suspicious activities on their account. One customer complained of account hack while another customer said that he received an SMS from the bank to open a fake HDFC website. Some users who are not HDFC customer have also received some fake messages. A user claimed, “I received certain spam messages as below (screenshot from my mobile phone). I am not an HDFC bank customer and never was. I trust you will take the necessary legal steps to safeguard your clients.”

Earlier, some customers also received fake text messages claiming their accounts will be blocked or suspended if they don’t update their Permanent Account Number (PAN). Stay alert and this is nothing but a fake message.

One of the message received by a customer yesterday read, “Dear customers HDFC Bank account will be suspended today please click here to link and update your pan no immediately." The message also contains a link which you should never click.

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