One nabbed in Mumbai's Rs.1 crore e-banking fraud

Mumbai, Feb 2 (IANS) One accused was arrested Saturday and a hunt launched for 11 others in connection with a Rs.1 crore illegal transfer from a businessman's bank account here, police said.

"We have arrested one person in this connection and are on the lookout for another 11 who are suspected to be involved in this fraud," Additional Police Commissioner (East) Quaiser Khalid told IANS.

The financial crime - considered to be among the biggest online banking and business fruads - took place Thursday in Mulund in north Mumbai.

Ankur Korane, 29, a director in a cosmetic company, suspected something amiss that morning when he received 12 SMSes informing him of debits of Rs.12 lakh, Rs.5 lakh, Rs.15 lakh and other amounts totalling Rs.1 crore.

After the first two messages, Korane asked his bank to freeze his account but was told to furnish a police complaint.

Korane went to Mulund police station and lodged his complaint of cheating, fraud and impersonation.

Police said that the Rs.1 crore siphoned off from his account was transferred to 12 different bank accounts all over India.

Investigators suspect that Korane's e-banking details may have been stolen to perpetrate the fraud.

Shri. G. Gopalakrishna Chief General Manager-in-Charge Department of Banking Supervision Reserve Bank of India Centre I, World Trade Centre Cuffe Parade Mumbai-400 005..

Dear sir,

I would like you to go through the report below.

You will agree that it shows red-tapism in the extreme.

RBI has mandated that all banks should sent an SMS to the account holder if any money is debited from his account.

I receive these SMS from my bank, HDFC Bank, even if Rs 1000/- is withdrawn through debit card, credit card or even an ATM.

If we receive such SMS and feel that the withdrawal is unauthorised, we are supposed to inform the bank, immediately.

If the bank, who is supposed to freeze the account, then tells us to furnish a police complaint then the very purpose for which the SMS is sent by the bank is defeated.

In this case, if the bank had taken immediate action when the person informed the bank after the second SMS, then the loss would have been limited to only RS 17.00 lakhs, By not taking action, the loss was extended to Rs 1.0 crore.

I would request you to take action on the bank concerned and recover the money from them and also impose exemplary punishment so that this type of behaviour is not repeated.

Yours sincerely,

Radheshyam Sharma

188, Bangur Avenue,

B-Block,

Kolkata – 700055