ATM-related frauds have become a growing concern, with fraudsters constantly devising new and innovative ways to defraud unsuspecting victims. Some of the most common types of ATM frauds include card skimming, card trapping, cash trapping, shoulder surfing, and phishing. These techniques involve stealing the victim’s ATM card details, PIN, or even the cash dispensed from the ATM.
Reportedly, many users face dire situations when they insert debit card at an ATM in an unguarded area and then the card gets stuck in the machine.
Fraudsters on two-wheelers are prowling around unguarded ATMs to pounce on unsuspecting debit card users to cheat them of their hard-earned money/savings by cloning the cards and even deftly replacing them.
ATM Frauds: Modus Operandi
The story doesn’t end here because a few moments after your card is replaced by fraudsters, one starts getting a series of shocks as the person would get a message about withdrawal from the account linked with the debit card.
You realise that you have been tricked, you are robbed of a few thousands to a couple of lakhs.
Hard to believe, but the story is true. According to a report by news agency PTI, many such gangs are operative in several parts of the country in the garb of helping hapless debit card holders who might have punched in PIN for withdrawal. But after dispensing money, the card gets stuck and the ATM screen starts displaying the balance amount, phone number and other details.
As soon as you realise that something is wrong with the machine, two or three persons would barge in and one of them would engage you in a conversation while the other would replace your card with another one.
In no time, they will be gone and thereafter your registered mobile will receive messages of withdrawal after sometime.
The panic-stricken customers call up the bank for blocking the card, he or she is already down by a few thousands. Card deactivation itself sometimes is a tedious process as banks don’t have a dedicated line or team to handle such issues. As the card is being blocked, many more thousands are gone.
You would approach your branch and simultaneously file a case with the cyber crime branch, thinking that they would help in getting back your money.
However, banks would come up with a standard reply that your PIN may have been compromised, so it cannot refund money while the cyber crime branch may not have time for your case as they have files of such cases. So your case is one in thousands. If the issue involves more than one bank then coordination is another issue.
As per the RBI data, 65,893 frauds related to ‘Card/Internet/ATM/Debit Card, Credit Card & Internet Banking’ have taken place in 2021-22 involving a sum of Rs 258.61 crore.
ATM Card Swapping
There are some customers who have faced such instances and have shared their experience. For example, a senior journalist in Delhi faced swapping of his card at one such ATMs. His private sector bank debit card was replaced by a public sector bank’s card on the pretext of helping him to take out his stuck card, PTI reported.
He realised that he had been tricked within 10 minutes after the ATM incident when he received withdrawal notifications on his mobile. He called the helpline to block the card and, to his surprise, money was being debited from his account as the bank’s customer care person took time to deactivate the stolen debit card.
To show that he had call details but neither the concerned bank admitted the call details nor the RBI Ombudsman considered it after following the RBI’s advice of lodging complaints sooner than later.
The bank expressed inability to accede to the request for reversal of the amount lost after the complainant deactivated the card.
“Complaint is rejected under Clause 16(2)(a) of the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021 : ‘In the opinion of the Ombudsman, there is no deficiency in service,” reply he received by the concerned Ombudsman.
The PTI report added that same day a similar incident happened again in East Delhi where the victim was a housewife, who went to the home bank ATM of a public sector lender but in this case the stuck card was replaced by fraudsters of the same bank, the report added.
With the stolen card, the fraudsters had done shopping by swapping cards. Notification of withdrawal alerted the customers and deactivation was done after losing close to Rs 1 lakh.
Fraudsters are inventing new ways of cheating customers on a daily basis while the grievance redressal mechanism is not getting corrected at the same pace.
Complaint Against Bank
Customers using banking services sometimes encounter several challenges and they need quick resolution of the complaints raised by them.
There are some common complaints that many customers highlight, like high fees and charges that banks levy for various services such as ATM withdrawals, cheque bounce, minimum balance non-maintenance, etc..
However, there are some complaints which are internal to a particular bank and a customer needs its resolution.
It could be poor customer service also. Customers often complain about the poor customer service provided by banks. Long wait times, unresponsive customer care, and lack of clarity about procedures are some of the common grievances.
How to complain against the bank to the RBI?
If your complaint against any bank/NBFC or payment system participant is rejected or not redressed to your satisfaction by the entity concerned, you can now lodge a complaint on the Complaint Management System or CMS portal on RBI website (https://cms[dot]rbi[dot]org[dot]in) or through the link on the RBI App.
CMS provides a single window platform for fast and easy online filing, tracking of complaints and also for filing of Appeals. All complaints lodged on CMS would be directed to the appropriate office of the RBI Ombudsman/ Regional offices of RBI.
Customers must note that before approaching the Ombudsman, it is mandatory to first file the complaint with the concerned bank. Only in the event of non-receipt of reply, within 30 days from the lodgement of the complaint, from your bank or if the complaint is rejected wholly or partially by the bank, the complaint can be registered with the Ombudsman.
(With PTI inputs)
Read all the Latest Business News, Tax News and Stock Market Updates here
Comments
0 comment