Warnings haven’t curbed online frauds

They are not told about the security risks in having an account that is part of core banking activities and many of them happily part with ATM PIN and card numbers to callers and lose their money. 

On Monday, a 32-year-old woman, Sivasakthi, from Manapakkam approached the City commissioner of police, after she lost Rs 1.46 lakhs from her Indian Bank account. She had given her ATM card details to a caller, who claimed to be the bank manager. He had told her the ATM card validity was over and she had to get a new card for further transactions. 

Sivasakthi unwittingly gave all the details. When she went to the bank, she found the amount had been totally withdrawn by someone.

“My husband is a driver and we save whatever we get in this account. I have lost all my savings and do not know what to do now. I have given a complaint to the commissioner of police. I did not know that such frauds are happening. Nobody had told me,” Sivasakthi told DT Next. 

Most of the banks now issue public alerts, asking them not to share their secret ATM PIN, CVV and card number to anyone. However, customers allege that they are never told about this in person when they open an account. “If the authorities had told us about such risks when we opened the account, we would have been more careful,” she said. 

Many such customers from the lower income group who were spoken to, said that they were unaware of such risks. “We get to read some news reports about online cheating. But we don’t really understand what such risks mean to us. I don’t do internet banking but only use my ATM card. I do not know how a person can take away money from my account just by getting my card number or ATM PIN. We easily believe if somebody says he is calling from the bank,” Shanthi, a house maid, said. 

Most customers said that if somebody calls posing as a bank employee they too would share the details they are asked for. “I never knew that these numbers cannot be shared with anyone else and no bank calls a customer to get details,” Sumathi, another customer, said.