Reporting to your bank
The steps are the same at every bank. Getting to the right number is the part people get wrong.
Last reviewed 28 August 2026
The sequence
Say the words “unauthorised transaction”
That phrase routes you to the fraud team rather than general support. Say it early and say it plainly.
Ask them to block the card and freeze the account
Even if only a small amount went, the details used to take it are usually enough to take more.
Give them the 1930 complaint reference
If you called 1930 first, quote that number. It connects the two records and saves you repeating everything.
Ask for a complaint reference in writing
By SMS or email. Without a reference, a follow-up call starts from nothing.
Ask what happens next, and by when
Banks work to defined timelines for disputed transactions. Ask what yours is and write down the date.
The per-bank numbers are not on this page yet
They are being verified before publication. A fraud line that has changed, dialled by someone in the hour after losing money, costs them the hour. The number on your own card cannot be out of date in that way, which is why it is the recommendation above and not a fallback.
Which senders these banks actually use
What we can tell you now is what a genuine message from these looks like. A real one arrives from a registered header, never from an ordinary mobile number.
- State Bank of India
SBIINB, SBIBNK - HDFC Bank
HDFCBK, HDFCBN - ICICI Bank
ICICIB, ICICIT - Axis Bank
AXISBK, AXISBN - Kotak Mahindra Bank
KOTAKB, KMBLNK - Punjab National Bank
PNBSMS, PNBBNK - Bank of Baroda
BOBTXN, BOBSMS - Canara Bank
CANBNK - Union Bank of India
UNIONB - IDFC FIRST Bank
IDFCFB - YES Bank
YESBNK - IndusInd Bank
INDUSB
You can check any sender against this list on the sender checker. A genuine header still does not make a message genuine — headers can be spoofed — but a personal mobile number claiming to be a bank is settled.