Note: The bank credited the full amount to my account three months after the incident.
-Brian Mendonça
I
noticed the message on my phone. It read ‘Rs. 20,000 w/d @ ATM fm A/c xxxx.’ Two more withdrawals followed in quick succession. Within seconds, my savings account was hacked.
The balance crumpled from five digits to two. I checked my debit card. It was
sleeping in my purse. We were at home.
The
withdrawals were made from an ATM on Sahar Road, Andheri, Mumbai. The location was mentioned in the email advice
which I received.
We
called the helpline and blocked the ATM card of the account.
The
first thing was to lodge an FIR at the nearest police station. We drove in the night in the rain. Several other people had come to the police
station to report skimming.
The
next morning, we presented ourselves at our bank - a stone’s throw from where
we live in North Goa. ‘There have been ten cases so far,’ the officer at the
bank said. Yesterday, the count was sixty-eight.
The
first thing I asked the manager was, ‘Is there any interim relief?’ After all,
the money was in the bank’s safekeeping. I was told that there was no such provision.
We would have to wait for a period of three months (ninety days) for any headway
in the matter. Since the police, the cyber cell, and the crime branch are involved,
due procedure has to be followed.
‘I
am not worried about you,’ the officer said, ‘but there are people [daily wage
earners] who had twenty thousand in their account, and nineteen thousand has
been withdrawn. The person was crying in front of me.’
The
bank has also to ascertain the veracity of each case. For example, the
withdrawal may have been made by a spouse. To establish the veracity of our
claim, we had to shell out Rs. 700 to an advocate to furnish an affidavit on
stamp paper of Rs. 50 to state the facts of the case.
Ten days have gone by. We are surprised and
disturbed that the issue has not been raised by print or social media -that too
when the acts are being committed with impunity across banks.
When
I asked the officer at the bank why the bank had not issued a statement to
alert the general public of the threat, the answer I received was, ‘It’s not
our job.’
‘You
will get your money,’ the manager was telling me, ‘Only you will lose interest
for the three months.’ ‘You can speak to our branch manager,’ is the smug
advice. Yet there is nothing in writing.
One option would be to approach the consumer court.
One
suggestion to prevent ATM fraud, is to send a One Time Password (OTP) to the registered
mobile number to enable the withdrawal.
Banks
are liable. They must change their
high-handed approach and provide interim relief without delay. The
investigation can proceed concurrently.
We
don’t use ATM cards now. We prefer to pay cash. Why compromise your primary
account to pay for a measly bill over lunch?
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Written on Sunday, 7 July 2019. Picture courtesy: thebalance.com Published in Gomantak Times Weekender, Panjim, Goa on 14 July 2019.
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Written on Sunday, 7 July 2019. Picture courtesy: thebalance.com Published in Gomantak Times Weekender, Panjim, Goa on 14 July 2019.
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