SMS worth Rs 80,000

Company executive duped by fraudsters who made transactions using his credit card

Company executive duped by fraudsters who made transactions using his credit card

An SMS can change your life. Though not for the good in Rahil Khan's case.
For this executive assistant in Indiabulls Securities at Connaught Place in central Delhi, things were sailing smoothly when an SMS from Khan's bank gave him the shock of a lifetime.

On April 10, when Khan was at his Jagatpuri residence, a message flashed on his cell phone stating that five transactions worth Rs 80,000 had been made through his credit card. Troubled by the SMS, Khan immediately called the bank asking for a clarification, but it was too late.

"After I got the SMS, I immediately called the bank officials and told them that I haven't made any transactions since April 6. The bank officials asked me to file a complaint to their customer care and said that they can block my card only after that. But by the time all this could happen, the accused had made five transactions of Rs 80,000 through my credit card. It included three transactions to recharge cable services of Dish TV and two in the name of Live Media India Ltd," said Khan.

"While the bank was in the process of blocking my card, I realised the miscreants were making their sixth transaction to recharge a Tata Sky cable service. I immediately told the bank to not hold me responsible for it and thankfully the transaction got cancelled right in time," added Khan.

Phony act

Credit card fraud is generally committed after a criminal skims the data on magnetic stripes, manufactures phony cards, and overcomes such protective features as holograms. No credit card fraud can be committed without phishing i.e. sending fraudulent emails and websites designed to deceive recipients into revealing credit card numbers and other personal and financial information.

In spite of registering a complaint with the bank, Khan still got calls to pay back the money.

"On April 13, I got a call from my bank, asking me to pay back the amount, but I refused as I didn't make these transactions. Also, I had already filed a complaint to cancel the transactions," explained the executive.

Meanwhile, Khan registered a case in Jagatpuri police station that was later forwarded to the Connaught Place police station, as the bank comes under the jurisdiction of that area.

"We have sent a notice to the bank and are investigating the matter," said a police officer.