Yet another case of Banking fraud involving loss of Rs 19 lakhs to a retired IIT professor has been reported by DNA.
This is a typical phishing fraud arising out of failure of security in the Banking system. It is a clear reflection of the failure of RBI to maintain a secure Banking environment in India and the Governor of RBI is answerable to the public for such lapses.
Mr Raghuram Rajan who has recently taken over as the Governor of RBI is now in the process of issuing new Banking licenses and one of the criteria we have suggested is a mandatory Cyber Crime Insurance for all Banks (or atleast for the new licensees) so that Banking customers are not exposed to risks arising out of the greed of Bankers to use insecure technology for commercial profits.
Will Mr Raghuram Rajan take note of the frequent incidents of phishing frauds that are arising in banks and how Banks are bullying the customers to bear the loss though the incidents clearly reflect that Banks have not been compliant with either the law of the land or the regulations of RBI itself?
Naavi.org has been in the forefront of fighting for the cause of victims of Phishing frauds in Indian Banking. Starting with the case of S.Umashankar Vs ICICI Bank, Naavi has been carrying the fight at various forums.
However, unscrupulous Banks are frustrating the efforts by playing with corrupt systems. The Cyber Appellate Tribunal (CAT) where several appeals are pending has been kept closed for last two years and this has effectively shut off all cases pending with adjudication officers against ICICI Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India, Axis Bank etc from further judicial scrutiny.
The Ministry of Information Technology is pressing with the Chief Justice of India to get through its recommended person for the post of Chair person of CAT which the Chief Justice has apparently not agreed to. But the ministry prefers to keep the Court closed rather than suggesting an alternate name.
Axis Bank has used the Karnataka High Court and manipulated a decision to shut off the Karnataka Adjudicator himself from entertaining any further cases of this nature.
In the absence of an initiative from RBI, Indian Banking customers will continue to suffer from the insecure technology banking platforms used by the Banks. It is therefore essential for RBI to issue a diktat to all Banks that in such cases money should be immediately reimbursed as recommended by the Damodaran Committee on Customer Services and the onus of collecting the money from the fraudsters should be borne by the Banks.
Naavi.org requests Mr Raghuram Rajan to respond to this demand in the interest of protecting the Indian Banking system.
Naavi
