Despite all the
technology backing banks, credit cards and debit cards, the customer is forced
to play blind, claims an old-timer.
BC: Did you read the news?
AD: Yes, apparently teetotallers don't live as long as...
BC: Oh c'mon, I wasn't referring to that. Did you read the
news where a bank fell prey to an e-mail scam?
AD: I did, it's pretty unfortunate that one of their
accountholders lost money...
BC: I'm shocked - not just because he lost Rs. 63 lakhs for
no fault of his, but because a fake email could fool a banking institution into
releasing money from his account. Apparently, even his fixed deposits were
liquidated...
AD: Yes, but stray occurrences like these tend to happen...
BC: If banks didn't entertain email transactions, this wouldn't
have happened.
AD: What are you trying to say?
BC: Technology is being introduced to make things more
convenient, but it has a flip side that can be pretty damaging...
AD: You reached this conclusion on the basis of this one
incident?
BC: Of course not! I keep getting these mails about some new
rule or about the need for some identification that the bank requires – so which
ones do I trust and which ones do I ignore? And it certainly doesn't make me
feel any better knowing that banks are getting confused too.
AD: But banks have several security checks in place for your
online transactions...
BC: Do you know the number of technology glitches that have
been reported by the papers in the past fortnight? A bunch of school dropouts
were nabbed in Lucknow for accessing details of accountholders of a particular
bank and transferring funds from their accounts online.
AD: In this case, they called these customers and asked for
their password over the phone, so you can't blame technology for that...
BC: There were seven arrests made in West Bengal and Bihar
where the culprits had sent fake mails and messages, collected account details,
opened bank accounts under different names and were running a full-fledged
racket across the country, with several others involved. Now, all this would
not be possible if not for technology...
AD: Look, despite consistent warnings that they shouldn't
share their account information with strangers, many customers actually...
BC: And what about that email supposedly sent by the Reserve
Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan? Did you read about that?
AD: I did, it was the one promising the recipient a couple
of crores and asked for their bank details, wasn't it? But RBI did clarify that
the mail was a hoax…
BC: That's right. But the point is, it's not just
individuals who are getting gypped, even companies are being hoodwinked. A
private firm lost Rs. 10 lakh from its account because its net banking password
was hacked.
AD: Ok, it's happening everywhere, but...
BC: And I'm not even getting into credit card and debit card
scams. Did you read about that poor guy who was cheated of Rs. 42,000 in a
credit card scam in Delhi? Or about that guy in Bangalore who used fake cards
and withdrew money from ATMs?
AD: Luckily, the guilty have been arrested. But you are
aware of the new debit card rule issued by RBI, right? You will not just have
to sign on the receipt for each transaction, but will also have to enter your
PIN into the machine.
BC: I did get a mail to the effect...
AD: Cards are also moving from magnetic strip technology to
chip technology...
BC: Well, they better do something about the technology
because according to news reports, Indians have lost over Rs. 220 crore in
2011. All this scheming...
AD: You mean skimming... That’s how they collect vital
information of accountholders from ATMs and from card machines…
BC: Well, originally skimming referred to the process of
removing the cream from milk.
AD: Yes, but that’s healthy…
BC: That depends, but now I know why profitable ventures are
called cash cows…
AD: I’m waiting…
BC: First they milk customers dry and then, someone else
tricks them and takes away all the cream.
