Wouldn't you like to be at four places at the same time? Well, probably not if it costs you Rs 5,00,000

Victim of credit card fraud alleges harassment by bank

Wouldn't you like to be at four places at the same time? Well, probably not if it costs you Rs 5,00,000.
Sanjay Bafna, a Mumbai-based businessman claims he became the victim of an elaborate Net fraud last year.

Bafna says that on January 24, 2009, he bought an Internet Router from a shopping mall in Mumbai, for Rs 1,575, using his ABN Amro Titanium credit card. But he was shocked a few days later when he received a call from a bank representative, informing him that he owed Rs 5,11,417.03 for various transactions made in the last few days. A statement from the bank showed that the card had been used at Pune, Lucknow and Delhi on January 25. Since Bafna was still in possession of the card, and it had never changed hands, the bank held him responsible for the transactions.

"I got no SMS, no call from the bank while someone was using my card. Suddenly after four days, a bank executive asked me to pay Rs 5 lakh for the shopping done through my credit card. I immediately informed them that my card was misused and also sent a copy of the complaint to the police. But even after a year, I am getting calls from the legal cell of the bank to make the payment. They are threatening to take me to court and also blacklist me," Bafna lamented.

"How could I go shopping in four cities on the same day? Some one has misused my card and the bank is harassing me by making these calls and threatening to take action against me," he added.
The bank insists that it has fool-proof security.

"As per standard banking policy we communicate and inform all customers via email and letter on the card liability and we have followed the process and informed him in this case as well," it added in a statement.

Cyber crimes and credit card frauds are becoming more and more common every day. Delhi-based financial executive Sanket Mishra recently got a mail purportedly from his bank, Standard Chartered, but it proved to be

a phishing expedition. The spammed message instructs recipients to log in to their online accounts and visit the Secure Messages section to read a specific note. The email body includes an embedded link, which when clicked leads to a phishing page.

"Earlier we had encountered a phishing email, informing Citi Prepaid Services customers/clients that their account information needs to be updated due to inactive membership, purportedly causing frauds and spoofing due to the account's inactivity. Once customers/clients entered their account credentials believing that this is real, phishers could get hold of the information and use it according to their wishes," Karnwal added.

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