UN librarian's ATM card hacked

Loses seventy five thousand rupees in the process

The Delhi police has reportedly failed to identify a person who allegedly withdrew cash in Romania after hacking the password of an ATM/Debit card whose owner lives in the Capital. The victim Dr R K Sharma reportedly works with the UN and is posted at the organisation's Delhi office. He has reported to the Delhi police that someone withdrew Rs 75520 from his Punjab National Bank (PNB) account after hacking his ATM card's password.

"Ironically, the police gave me a status report of my case accusing that I myself had given my ATM card's password to someone who withdrew the money. However, they don't know anything about that person," Sharma alleged.

The victim also claimed that the police registered the FIR seven months after the incident. He said that he visited the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and other departments but nothing happened.
The EOW allegedly refused to look into the matter saying that they only dealt with cases of cheating involving Rs 1 crore or above.

"In January one of my cheques was dishonoured after which I contacted the bank. When I went through my transactions I was shocked to notice that Rs 75520 were withdrawn without my sanction. Bank officials however, cast aspersions against me saying I was involved in the case. The transaction has been made in Romania, a place I've never visited and no acquaintance of mine lives there," Sharma said.u00a0

A police officer only said that an FIR has been registered in this connection under sections 420 and 468 of the IPC and they were looking into the matter.

ON THE CARDS
A leading security solution provider RSA has said that with increased usage of debit cards for online financial transactions, banks need to strengthen their security network to avoid frauds.
"The usage of debit cards is six times higher than that of credit cards. In such a scenario, it becomes crucial that banks secure online transactions for their customers, especially those using debit cards," RSA Lead Technology Consultant (India and SAARC) Vikas Desai told the media.
While one can always block payment for credit cards (in case of loss), for debit cards, the amount is withdrawn immediately, making debit card usage riskier than credit cards, he added. RSA is the security division of global IT major EMC Corporation.
Desai said an estimated 47 crore card transactions, credit and debit put together, take place annually in the country.