Internet Fraud

A United Nations officer issued a cheque on his nationalized bank account. The cheque bounced despite his having deposited a big sum a few days back. He complained to the bank only to be told that Rs 75,000 was withdrawn in a number of transactions in Romania, a country he has never visited.The police suspect that the account was hacked on internet.

This is not the lone case of fraudulent activity in an Indian bank. Bank fraud is a big business in today's world. With more educational qualifications, banking is becoming impersonal and an increase in banking sector has given rise to this white collar crime. In many cases, the involvement of bank officials, as deliberate colluders, is also suspected.

The frauds have cost the depositors Rs 779 crore in 2004-05. It almost doubled to Rs 1381 crore the next year. In 2008-09, the figure rose to Rs 1883 crore. The figures given - Rs 4,043 crore in these deals - are again not conclusive. The actual figure may be much more. Both bank and forensic officials are baffled at this massive level of fraud. In 2004-05, there were 96 cases in which over Rs 1 crore was swindled away in each transaction. This rose to 212 in 2008-09.
Apparently no depositor is safe. Chances of swindling increase seemingly with the size of the bank. A multi-crore fake cheques scam estimated to the tune of Rs 52 crore was exposed in the Kanpur main branch of the State Bank of India last August. Seven bank officials, including one assistant general manager and two chief managers were suspended. The bank's audit team found that the fraud involved clearing of fake cheques in the bank account of an influential petrol pump owner. He is believed to have fled the country. This is stated to be the biggest fraud in the Kanpur-Lucknow region.