Banking News – Nepal Rastra Bank has urged the public to remain cautious to avoid falling victim to scams involving fake bank accounts or QR codes when depositing money into the Prime Minister’s Natural Disaster Relief Fund. The Payment Systems Department of the central bank has issued a notice regarding this.

As incidents of unauthorized collection and scams using fake QR codes and fake bank account details in the name of the Prime Minister’s Natural Disaster Relief Fund have come to light, the central bank has urged everyone to be vigilant.

The central bank has requested that special attention be paid to various matters before sending contributions to the fund during this time of disaster. The central bank stated that when transferring money through mobile banking, wallets, ConnectIPS, or any other medium, it is essential to verify that the account name is “Prime Minister Disaster Relief Fund.” It also advised paying attention when entering the contribution amount and reconfirming it.

The central bank urged the public to only use the official bank account details mentioned on the central bank’s website, or the websites of the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Finance. It also advised not to scan unauthorized QR codes circulated on social media, email, and messaging apps, and not to share sensitive personal information such as OTPs, PINs, and passwords with anyone under the pretext of facilitating contribution transfers.

Similarly, the central bank advised using official applications and, if one falls victim to a scam, to immediately inform the concerned bank or financial institution and payment service provider, the Cyber Bureau of Nepal Police, or the central bank’s Financial Consumer Protection Unit.