RBI sought help from CBI to curb fraud through ‘phishing’

Recently in one of the incidence Radha Nair (name changed), a 35-year old government employee in Coimbatore, got an email from an unknown person posing to be a senior officer of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) congratulating her for winning an international lottery prize worth $500,000 (Rs 2.3 crore). There was little content. Nair had to provide her personal bank account details for the money to be remitted and also make a “small” upfront payment for processing and miscellaneous administrative costs. Nair fell for the trap and she mail back her bank details and made the payment but later she found that she had been duped of Rs 6.5 lakh.

Nair told HT on phone, “I have promised myself to visit a bank branch to withdraw money by signing a cheque leaf.”

Nair is not the only to get such email. In last four years, there has been increase in such instances of banking fraud through “phishing”.

‘Phishing’ is a fraud where criminals create e-mails and web sites that closely resemble those of legitimate companies.

However between January 2006 and September 2009, 1,436 cases of fraudulent Internet money transfer cases involving Rs 15 crore have been reported.

To stop the menace, RBI has sought help from the cybercrime cell of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI’s). H.R Khan, executive director, RBI said, “There has been a significant rise in the number of these mails. It is a cause for concern and needs to be addressed.”

Generally the fraudsters through these e-mail lure people by promising an astronomical amount either for wining a lottery or for helping to secure a deceased emperor’s wealth.

In some cases, these mails have almost identical web-addresses of banks such as the Punjab National Bank (see attached file) to establish credibility and extract bank account details.

Worried about such email, banks have cautioned their customers to avoid such mails.

PNB said in a communication to its customers, “We never request for your personal and financial information over e-mail… Beware of fraudulent websites looking similar to PNB’s Internet Banking website.”