In the wake of the alleged identity thefts, the police cyberdome and bankers have urged people to be extra vigilant while making online transactions.
Preliminary investigations found that money was siphoned off from the accounts of those who reportedly cooperated with unidentified callers, who had introduced themselves as bank staffers, and forwarded their One Time Passwords to a number as requested.
Anonymous callers had allegedly stolen the mobile banking personal identification numbers (MPIN) and OTPs of over 10 persons across the State and withdrawn money from their accounts. Around ₹12 lakh was allegedly stolen by the callers.
A major incident in Kozhikode district was the alleged illegal withdrawal of ₹1.47 lakh last week from the account of a professor working with a reputed national institution. The yet-to-be identified caller had approached him with a request to replace the outdated magnetic-stripe-based debit card with a new one with additional EMV (Europay, Master Card and Visa) chip security features. The account holder reportedly responded to the call and revealed the OTP ‘to clear the formalities’. He came to know about the trickery only after money was fully withdrawn from his account. “Four similar cases have already been registered at the Kunnamangalam police station alone. Incidentally, those who resort to the illegal act are well educated,” said S.B. Kailasnath, Station House Officer, Kunnamangalam. He added that even a retired State Bank of India employee had lost around ₹30,000 in the alleged fraud.
“People should at least try using the available banking options to set their own daily Internet transaction limits as a primary security measure. This basic option has helped several customers,” said Mr. Kailasnath. He pointed out that the recovery of the lost money was a strenuous task and highly expensive too.
In one of the recent incidents, the police found that the fraud had been masterminded from Bihar. Meanwhile, the Kerala Police Cyberdome will investigate cases reported from across State. City and rural police stations have been asked to submit details of the incidents to the cyberdome investigation team.
An officer with the cyberdome said the use of unsafe mobile applications giving access to SMS and other device information too should be avoided to ensure safe online banking.
Also, one should know that no debit or credit card renewal is possible through phone calls, and such instances should be immediately reported to the banks concerned or the police, he reminded.
