The Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Saturday issued an advisory to its customers related to fraudulent messages being circulated in PNB's name.

The bank said that a fraudulent message stating "PNB's 130th Anniversary Government Financial Subsidy" is being circulated across digital platforms.

"These are fake messages and PNB brand name is being used to perpetuate different forms of fraud. In some cases, these frauds are attempts at identity theft and financial scams," the bank said in a statement.

PNB advised its customers and the general public to be careful and vigilant while receiving such fake messages, especially those circulated through social media and other channels like WhatsApp.

"As a precautionary step, we also urge our customers not to divulge any confidential/personal/financial information via phone calls or emails and not to click/download any suspicious links, even if they appear legitimate," the bank cautioned.

As digital banking surges in India, scammers are targeting people to rob them of their hard-earned money via a wave of fraudulent messages.

The messages such as "Dear customer, your bank account will be suspended today. Update your KYC/ PAN now to avoid deactivation. Click on the link below to update," have been circulating via SMSes for long.

At least 40 bank customers of a private bank in Mumbai, lost lakhs in just three days after they clicked on a link sent to them via a fake bank SMS.

The SMS alerted them to update their KYC and PAN or their bank account will be blocked. [IANS/JS]