Account security
Using public Wi-Fi without opening your bank
Cafe and station Wi-Fi is fine for browsing. Bank, UPI, and email login belong on mobile data.
An open network at a cafe, airport, hotel, or station is shared, and it is easy to copy the name. A second network with almost the same name is enough to catch logins.
A simple split
Use public Wi-Fi for maps, news, and ordinary browsing if you need to.
Use mobile data for bank apps, UPI, email, and any page that asks for a password.
A lock icon in the address bar means the connection to that site is encrypted. It does not mean the site is your bank. You might be on a copy.
Forget the network when you leave. Turn off automatic join for networks you do not control.
Do not install a Wi-Fi unlock app, certificate, or profile that a stranger sends you.
If you already typed a password on a network you do not trust, change that password from mobile data, using the app or the site you opened yourself.
If money has already left your account, call 1930 or report at cybercrime.gov.in. This page is awareness information. It does not file a complaint.