Keeping Your Account Safe
The handful of habits that prevent the most common ways investors lose money to fraud.
The market’s biggest avoidable losses don’t come from bad stock picks — they come from handing over access. A few simple habits eliminate almost all of that risk.
- Never shareA unit of ownership in a company. your password, OTP, or 2FA code — no genuine brokerAn intermediary licensed to execute your trades. or “SEBIIndia’s securities-market regulator. official” ever asks.
- Enable two-factor authentication and use a unique, strong password.
- Never give “guaranteed return” tip-sellers access to your account or trade on their behalf.
- Check the CDSL/NSDL SMS/email after every trade — independent confirmation of what moved.
- Be sceptical of Telegram/WhatsApp “stock tips,” pump-and-dump groups, and fake apps.
Almost every account-fraud story ends the same way: the victim shared an OTP or let a “tipster” trade for them. Guard those two things and you’ve closed the door on the vast majority of scams. Your discipline, not your brokerAn intermediary licensed to execute your trades.’s security, is the real lock.
Key takeawayMost account losses come from shared access and tip-scams, not bad trades — never shareA unit of ownership in a company. OTPs/passwords, use 2FA, and verify trades via depository alerts.
FAQs
I got a call promising guaranteed returns if I share my login. Is it real?
No — it’s a scam, always. No legitimate entity guarantees returns or needs your login/OTP. Hang up, never share credentials, and report it to your broker and SEBI’s SCORES portal.