The Cyber Crime unit of the Hyderabad police issued a public advisory warning of a rise in credit card–related frauds targeting unsuspecting cardholders through multiple online and phone-based scams.
Police said fraudsters are using phishing links, fake merchant websites, bogus customer-care numbers, reward-point redemption offers, credit-limit enhancement calls and malicious mobile applications to steal card details and one-time passwords, leading to unauthorised transactions. Cases of card skimming or cloning, SIM-swap fraud and call-centre impersonation have also been reported.
Advising citizens to remain vigilant, the cybercrime unit urged people to avoid clicking on unsolicited links, never share OTPs, PINs or CVV numbers, and install apps only from official app stores. Victims have been asked to immediately report suspicious transactions through the national cybercrime helpline 1930 or the cybercrime reporting portal.
Published – January 02, 2026 08:53 pm IST
