Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation [Hsbc] — fraudulent transaction of 25, 000 on hsbc credit card due to misleading otp

I am writing to report a fraudulent transaction on my HSBC credit card that occurred due to misleading communication from the bank during the payment process.
I attempted to make a payment of ₹25 on a website I believed to be Indian. However, I was charged ₹25, 000 instead. The OTP sent by HSBC during the transaction showed “IDR” as the currency, which was unclear to me at the time. I assumed it was an internal code due to the technical nature of the message, and there was no explicit indication that this was an international transaction.
I reached out to HSBC’s customer service within 2 minutes of the transaction to dispute the charge, but the grievance team denied my refund, claiming the OTP was sufficient authorization. This is deeply concerning for the following reasons:
Misleading Communication: The OTP did not provide clear information that this was an international payment in a foreign currency.
Failure to Safeguard Against Fraud: HSBC did not notify me that I was making an international payment, nor did they offer adequate protection against a fraudulent website.
Cyber Fraud Risk: The website I used was later identified as a scam, posing as a national organization. HSBC should have stronger fraud detection and prevention mechanisms in place.
I have escalated this issue to the RBI Ombudsman, but I am extremely disappointed by HSBC’s response. As a customer, I expect the bank to take greater responsibility in preventing fraud, especially with rising cases of cybercrime.
Resolution Requested:
I request that HSBC:
Refund the ₹25, 000, as the transaction was unauthorized due to misleading communication.
Revise their OTP and transaction notification process to clearly distinguish between domestic and international payments.
Strengthen their fraud detection mechanisms to prevent customers from unknowingly engaging with fraudulent websites.