Advocate Pratap Pardeshi advises Internet users on how to avoid online frauds while net banking.
Senior criminal lawyer, advocate Pratap Pardeshi has been in the legal field since 1988. He started his career under advocate SR Pande at the District and Sessions Court of Pune. Pardeshi has successfully pleaded many revenue, criminal and anti-corruption cases.
In 2002, he successfully sought bail for Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray at the Pune court. Pardeshi talked to Ashish Jadhav regarding the precautions to be taken for safe online transactions.
What is an Internet or net banking fraud?
A net banking fraud is a fraud committed by net-savvy scamsters who use Internet technology to illegally withdraw money from a bank account or transfer the money to an account in a different bank, without the knowledge of the original account holder.
What kind of net banking frauds are taking place nowadays?
Normally, net banking frauds are committed through phishing, spam, Nigerian fraud and spyware.
In phishing, the victim’s personal details are obtained by fraudsters posing as bankers, who float a site similar to that of the victim’s bank. The victims are asked to provide all personal information, including their account numbers, to the bank on the pretext of database upgradation.
The numbers and passwords are then used to carry out transactions on the victim’s behalf without their knowledge.
Typically, a phishing email will ask an online banking customer to
follow a link in order to update personal bank account details. If the link is followed, the victim downloads a program that captures his / her banking login details, and sends them to a third party.
Nigerian frauds are basically a lottery scam in which some overseas parties are involved to cheat unsuspecting Internet users by promising them a good amount of money at a nominal fee. Their intention is to steal money in the form of fee against the lottery prize. Nigerian fraud cases are registered under sections 406, 420 and 465 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860.
What precautions should be taken by net banking users?
The password or the PIN should be alphanumeric, and should be changed frequently.
Do not write the password on a piece of paper or in a diary, instead memorise it. People should avoid keeping unused cheques filled with details and signatures, money
withdrawal slips or mini statements obtained at ATMs.
A bank account holder must avoid online banking on unsecured WiFi systems, and operate only from personal computers at home.
Always log out when you exit the online banking portal. Close the browser to ensure that your secure session is terminated. Never exit simply by closing the browser.
Net banking frauds take place despite safety instructions given
by banks? What do you have to say to that?
Due to lack of time, account holders do not usually read the instructions carefully and click on links that capture the PIN number, customer ID and account numbers. So, customers should follow the instructions given by the banks. However, the banks should provide info in regional languages on their official websites so that customers who are not well-versed in English can understand the rules for net banking transactions.
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