Bank fraud involving cards, internet and cash rises in six months

Bank fraud involving cards and internet increased in the six months to September 2022 amid rapid advances in digitization.

According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, during the six-month period, 2,331 fraud cases valued at Rs. 87 crore were reported by banking establishments against 1,532 fraud cases valued at Rs. 60 crore.

In 2021-22, the average volume of fraud decreased significantly. “Based on date of fraud occurrence, advance-related fraud cases prior to 2019-20 constituted the largest category. However, subsequently, the modus operandi shifted to card or internet-based transactions in terms of the number of fraud cases,” according to RBI’s Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India.

Cash fraud is also on the rise. Banks reported 589 fraud cases involving Rs. 81 crore in cash-related matters in the six-month period September 2022, compared to 245 fraud cases involving Rs. 51 crore in the same period last year.

The RBI said total fraud cases including advances, foreign exchange, inter-branch accounts, deposits and off-balance sheet items fell to 5,406 cases at Rs 19,485 crore during the six-month period against 4,069 cases at Rs 36,316 crore.

According to RBI, the number of fraud cases reported by private banks exceeded the number of PSU banks for the second year in a row in 2021-22. In relation to the amount, however, the proportion of public broadcasters in 2021/22 was 66.7 percent compared to 59.4 percent in the previous year.

Scammers create a third party phishing website that looks like an existing real website e.g. B. a bank website, an e-commerce website or a search engine. Links to these websites are distributed by scammers via SMS, social media, email, and messengers. Many customers click the link without checking the detailed Uniform Resource Locator (URL) and enter secure credentials such as PIN, One Time Password (OTP), and Password that are captured and used by the scammers.

Scammers call or approach customers via phone calls, social media, and impersonate bankers, corporate executives, insurance agents, and government officials. In order to gain trust, scammers share some customer details such as the customer’s name or date of birth. Scammers install skimming devices in ATMs and steal data from customers’ cards. Scammers can also install a dummy keypad or small pinhole camera well hidden to capture the ATM PIN.

To streamline reporting, increase efficiency and automate the payment fraud management process, RBI said the fraud reporting module will be migrated to DAKSH – the Reserve Bank’s Advanced Supervisory Monitoring System. The migration will take effect on January 1, 2023. Businesses should start reporting payment fraud in DAKSH from this date.

In addition to the existing bulk upload functionality for reporting payment fraud, DAKSH offers additional features i.e. maker checker functionality, screen-based online reporting, option to request additional information, ability to issue alerts/notices, generation of dashboards and reports, said the RBI.

All RBI Authorized Payment System Operators (PSOs), Vendors and Payment System Participants operating in India are required to report all payment fraud attempts, including attempted incidents, regardless of value, either reported by their customers or detected by the entities themselves. “This reporting was previously facilitated through the Electronic Data Submission Portal (EDSP) and will be migrated to DAKSH,” it said.

Sybil Alvarez

"Incurable gamer. Infuriatingly humble coffee specialist. Professional music advocate."

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