NAVI MUMBAI: A Vashi-based company has become the latest victim of online banking fraud when cyber criminals hacked into the firm’s account and siphoned off more than Rs 22 lakh in 14 transactions for online shopping in two consective days.
Acting on a complaint lodged by the owner of Rheno International Agencies, J V R Bhatta (74), the Koperkhairane police have registered a cheating case under section 420 (cheating) of the IPC and sections 66, 66C and 43A of the IT Act. The cyber crime cell is conducting a parallel investigation into the case.
Bhatta, who is a former mediaperson, lives in Vashi’s sector-9.
Assistant police inspector SR Avchat said the modus operandi was baffling, but they are confident of nabbing the accused.
“The company has a current account in Kotak Mahindra Bank’s Koperkhairane branch. As the firm’s CEO, Manu Bhardwaj, receives a text alert for any bank transaction, the hacker first approached a mobile service provider’s gallery and claimed that he was Bhardwaj and had lost his SIM card. As the hacker applied for a new SIM card, the previous card was blocked and Bhardwaj did hot receive any calls or text alerts about the 14 fraudulent transactions. The hacker then hacked into the company’s e-banking account and made seven transactions each on August 23 and 24, for a total of Rs 22,86,860,” he said.
“The fraud came to light on August 25, when Bhardwaj visited the mobile service provider in Koperkhairane to inquire about his blocked SIM card. He learnt that someone had submitted forged documents and applied for a new SIM card on his name. When he checked with the bank, the online fraud was revealed,” said Avachat.
Inspector Shekhar Bagade, in-charge of the cyber crime investigation cell, said, “The Rs 22-lakh online banking fraud seems to have been done by cyber criminals from Nigeria. While some amount from the firm’s bank account has been transferred into various fake accounts in Virar and Kalyan, the fraudsters have also indulged in e-banking transactions by hacking into the firm’s bank account. There is a possibility that the company’s bank account number and password were revealed to the fake emails sent by the Nigerian frauds.”
Better safe than sorry
* Use a ‘good’ password for your e-banking account, not easy ones, like your date of birth, spouse’s name. It should be alphanumeric with special characters
* Don’t reveal your password even to trusted friends or fall prey to lucrative offers via email and give away personal information, including email user ID and password
* Be wary of emails asking you to update your bank account details
* Don’t click on any link on an email even if it appears to be from your bank. Memorize the URL and type it in the address bar. The ‘s’ after the ‘http’ in the URL denotes that the website is secure
* Always tear photo copies of important documents, such as PAN card, electricity bill, passport, when discarding them so that they cannot be misused