Cyber frauds: Puneites lose Rs 5 crore in 9 months

Rs 5 crore - That’s the total amount cyber fraudsters have robbed Puneites of in the past nine months, with four such cases being registered in different police stations.

Flagging concern over the rising banking frauds in the city, the Pune police have prepared an advisory for banks asking them to be cautious while issuing international debit and credit cards. The Pune Cyber Crime Cell will also organise a special awareness programme for users and bankers on the cases of online frauds by misusing credit card and ATM card information, phishing and Nigerien frauds.

The advisory issued by the cyber police states, “The issuance of international debit card is unnecessary in many cases. Most of the users do not want these cards, yet many banks are issuing them.”

Speaking to dna, an officer attached with the Pune cyber crime cell says, “Issuing cards unnecessarily makes account holders vulnerable in case the card is misplaced or stolen as their account can be operated from anywhere across the world. We have noticed misuse of international debit and credit cards by people involved in Nigerian frauds who open accounts in banks in India and operate them from abroad using these cards.”

Lack of knowledge

Deputy commissioner of police (cyber) Sanjay Shinde laments, “People do not have adequate knowledge of safety measures to be taken while carrying out online transactions. Many internet users do not pay attention to safety advice. In recent cases, we saw fraudsters using a technique in which it blocks the SIM card of a victim’s cell phone to ensure that he or she doesn’t get alerts. If one’s SIM card gets blocked, one should immediately contact the nearest telecom office and get a confirmation on it, but victims either ignore it or don’t no about it at all, which makes it even more convenient for fraudsters.”

Banks too slow on mobile banking

It has been noticed that fraudsters, after hacking an account, transfer money to their different accounts across the country. “We keep wondering how these fraudsters manage to open fake accounts by submitting fake KYC forms of people, open accounts in different banks and make real transactions in these accounts,” Shinde added.

Shinde claims that they have also asked bank authorities to create awareness among customers about the latest security measures and also to be vigilant while submission of KYC forms to weed out fake accounts. “But the banks are slow in their response to the security aspects related to mobile banking.”

Tips for online shopping

- Shop with merchants that you know or trust 

- Check that the shopping website is secure

- Be cautious of unsolicited phone calls or emails from merchants

- Read merchant’s refund and exchange policy before any purchase

- Do not share your password

- Always print and keep the order confirmation documents

- Read the privacy statement

- Never enter your personal information on a pop-up screen

- Net caution

- Keep your passwords/PIN codes safe and memorise them

- Check if the online banking website is secure

- Log out immediately after you complete your online transaction

- Do not copy or click on any link that are not from a known source

- Do not respond to emails asking for personal or banking related information

- Read privacy and policy statements to ensure that no unauthorised transaction has taken place

- Check your account statements regularly