Look West, protect your card customers: IT secy to banks

There may be hope for people whose credit, debit or ATM cards have been hacked into for fraudulent transactions.

State information technology (IT) secretary Rajesh Aggarwal, who is an adjudicating officer under the IT Act, has held that banks need to proactively approach consumers in cases where such activity was suspected.

Aggarwal has pointed out that banks fail to give consumers the same level of protection as offered in developed countries, such as the US where consumers are insured against online and ATM frauds beyond a liability of $50.

The judgment was passed on a complaint against a bank for adjudication under the IT Act.

The complainant received an SMS in October 2012 informing him about a transaction of Rs48,640.81 on his debit card. He registered a complaint with the police as he had not made the transaction. The police found that the transaction was conducted from an IP address in Lucknow to purchase a pre-paid virtual credit card for an account registered from an IP address that was traced to Qatar, Doha. However, the Lucknow IP address holder said the computer was not used for any netbanking transactions, a fact that was later borne out by the records.

Aggarwal pointed out that though the bank confirmed that the transaction was suspicious and blocked the debit card, it didn’t proactively follow up the chargeback process or contact the customer on his mobile number to confirm the transaction.

“…as individual customers do not have the wherewithal to fight the cyber criminals operating in total anonymity and across national boundaries, more proactive and consumer-friendly policies are needed on behalf of banks to safeguard the interests of their customers,” said Aggarwal, while holding the bank guilty and ordering a partial compensation of Rs40,000 to the complainant within a month of the order.

“Most banks in the US and in other developed nations insure their consumers against online/ATM frauds etc beyond a liability of $50; it’s expected that in India also the banks not only educate the customers about precautions to be taken while using netbanking or credit/debit/ATM cards but also insure the customers against possible frauds,” he said.

“It is quite sad to see the banks operating in India proclaiming very loudly that they are following best international practices, but not giving its customers the same level of protection which is offered in most developed countries,” said Aggarwal.

Dos and don’ts
Change your password frequently and don’t write it down anywhere or share it with anyone.

Don’t select the ‘remember password’ option if browsing from a cyber cafe or public computer. Also delete the browsing history and cookies.

Do not answer phishing emails or phone calls seeking details of bank accounts, ID and password.

Use virtual keyboard if possible to key in credit/ debit card and bank account numbers and details.