Hellenic Bank on Thursday urged its customers to exercise caution amid a surge in fraud and scam attempts being made particularly over SMS, emphasising that employees will never ask for passwords.

The bank stated that passwords or other confidential information should never be shared with anyone over the phone, email or SMS.

“The bank will never request such information over the phone or through SMS,” it said.

The announcement was issued as scam messages were sent out to customers claiming that their account had been blocked and requested them to unblock it by clicking on a link.

It added that customers should remain alert as to what messages or alerts they are receiving regarding their banking activity, stating that those who receive suspicious messages can call the branch.

The bank also warned of false social media ads or posts claiming that customers have won a competition and subsequently requesting confidential information.