Thiruvananthapuram: In a bid to prevent monetary loss in online frauds, the state police Cyberdome and Reserve Bank of India have initiated a social media platform of banks and other stake-holders for swift action. A trial run of the new platform during the last ten days could prevent online frauds to the tune of Rs 2.34 lakh, said Cyberdome nodal officer and Thiruvananthapuram-range IG Manoj Abraham. A WhatsApp group named ‘Stop Banking Fraud’ was created with nodal officers of banks, mobile wallet firms, payment gateways, e-commerce portals, officials of police district cyber cells, police Hitech Crime Enquiry Cell and cyber police station as members.
As soon as a complaint of online looting is received at the district cyber cell or cyber police station, it would be immediately shared on the group and the nodal officers of the stakeholder concerned could initiate steps to freeze the transaction. The earlier the complaint is received, the higher the chance for recovery of the lost money. Nodal officers of banks could also make use of this platform to share information on frauds reported at the banks. According to Mr. Manoj Abraham, many online frauds were committed by illegally obtaining debit card or credit card details or by getting the one-time password. The fraudsters mainly transfer the looted money to mobile wallets or use for shopping purposes.
While some of the transactions are completed within five minutes, many transactions will take up to 24 hours. Hence, the transaction could be frozen in case of any complaints and release or reverse after proper verification. He also added that public should pass on the details of any online looting they suffered to the cyber cell concerned by message or mail or over phone at the earliest. The banks and other stakeholders are also fully cooperating with the new initiative as they could also minimise their losses.
“As per RBI norms, in case a bank customer loses money from his bank account with no fault from his part, the bank will have to compensate him. Hence the new platform that aims at preventing loss caused by online cheating is being welcomed by banks and other stakeholders. Already 42 stakeholders, including banks and payment gateway firms, have joined the platform,” said Mr. Abraham. Meanwhile, the Cyberdome has also advised banks to develop a mobileapp for activating and deactivating debit cards or credit cards. A few banks have already brought out the app.
