No end to online fraud in Kerala

Kozhikode: The number of online banking frauds is rising as the online transactions increase and police says they can only track the fraudsters, not prevent the crime.

Though the cyber cell is active and trace the source, it is highly unlikely to prevent the same types of banking crimes being repeated, they added.

In the city limits, nearly 20 such cases were recorded, where either the user lost the ATM card, or his money was transferred from the account directly or through online shopping. In rare occasions, out of ignorance, the users revealed their PIN number and one-time password (OTP).

The maximum penalty for the crime, which comes under cheating, is a fine of Rs 3 lakh. But most online fraudsters manage to escape the police net.

A bank customer lost Rs 60, 143 from his account in a gap of four days for railway ticket reservation. Some cheats pose as bank officials over the phone and obtain PIN and OTP from the account holder.

Rural SP N. Vijayakumar said that online banking frauds were taking place irrespective of the security features.

“Sometimes even the learned people also fall prey. We are regularly conducting awareness classes for students and residents associations, with the support of the cyber police. The advertisements and classes help to an extent. However, there will not be much improvement as more and more transactions are now being done online,” he said.

Recently, people from the district had lost their ATM cards and amounts as high as Rs 3 lakh were withdrawn for online purchases. NRI people are also mainly being targeted, said the police.