Fact check: "Never Respond! SBI never asks for personal details," clarifies govt

Many people have received messages from the 'State Bank of India' (SBI) recently informing them that their YONO account with the bank has been deactivated and requesting that they update their Permanent Account Number (PAN) card credentials to revive the account. However, the message is false, and the Union government clarified it on Saturday.

PIB Fact Check, the central government's official Twitter handle for dispelling misinformation about government policies and schemes, advised, "A #Fake message issued in the name of SBI asks customers to update their PAN number to avoid having their account blocked. Never respond to emails/SMS requesting personal or banking information," 

It further added, "SBI never requests personal information through messages." It also urged citizens to report such messages by emailing report.phishing@sbi.co.in or calling the helpline at 1930.

Meanwhile, according to the viral text message, "Dear Customer, your SBI YONO Account Closed Today Contact Now And Updated your PAN NUMBER in the following link." It also bore the name of the 'sender,' Rajesh.

Furthermore, the lack of a single punctuation mark in the message indicates that it is, in fact, a fake.

Know about the SBI YONO?
SBI's YONO, which stands for "You Only Need One," is an integrated digital platform. It was launched in December 2017 and allowed users to access various financial and other services, such as flight, train, and taxi bookings, online shopping, medical bill payments, and so on.

The platform can be accessed via a smartphone app for both Android and iOS devices.

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• PAN
• PIB Fact Check
• SBI
• State Bank of India
• YONO account