Mumbai, beware of callers posing as bank officials as credit/debit card fraud cases rise by 48%

The detection rate has also dropped in the same period. As many as 34 people were arrested this year compared to 36 people last year

Debit and credit card fraud cases rose to 367 till July 16 this year from 248 in the same period last year — a hike of 48%, revealed statistics provided by the Mumbai police. The rise is not the only worry for the Mumbai police.

The detection rate has also dropped in the same period. As many as 34 people were arrested this year compared to 36 people last year.

A senior police official said most of these cases were related to vishing — a type of cybercrime wherein callers posing as bank officials trick people into sharing their card details.

The number of cases could have been higher had the police not discouraged a few victims from registering complaints, said a source.

For example, Hemlata Verma from Versova, a cybercrime victim, was turned away after she approached the police to file a complaint earlier this year. The plea of Ramesh Ghanekar, a factory worker who lost Rs79,000 in cyber fraud, met the same fate.

Advocate Vicky Shah said, “Banks and police are doing their jobs but a user needs to be careful. You cannot blame the bank or police. People need to vigilant. You should never share your one-time password.”

Mumbai bizman shares card details, loses ₹30,000

A 37-year-old businessman from Mahim lost Rs30,000 after an unidentified caller posing as a bank official tricked him into giving his card details on the pretext of getting him a new one.

According to the Mahim police, a first information report (FIR) was registered on July 19. The incident took place at 3pm on June 30 when he was at home. The fraudster called him up posing as an official from a private bank.

He introduced himself as Raj Malhotra and said that the bank was offering a new credit card free of cost and that his old credit card would have to be renewed. Malhotra then asked the businessman to share his 16-digit number and one-time password (OTP), which were used to withdraw Rs30,000.

The businessman called on his bank’s landline and got his card blocked.

He also approached his bank which asked him to visit the local police station to register a complaint.

An official from the Mahim police station said, “We have informed the cyber police about the case and will take their technical help arrest the caller. We have spread a lot of awareness on vishing cases but people still end up falling prey to the crime.”