Your money is not safe in a bank

Cyber criminals rob Delhi-based professional off Rs 1 lakh kept in his savings account

Cyber criminals rob Delhi-based professional off Rs 1 lakh kept in his savings account

The irony in the cliched statement of a crime newsletter on a popular news channel will come in handy if you have a bank account.

"Chain se sona hai to jaag jao," (If you want to sleep soundly, be alert).
At least Neeraj Singla, a senior executive with a reputed mobile phone manufacturer, will readily agree.u00a0
Singla got the shock of his life when on May 5 he checked his balance in the savings account number 632201509657 with ICICI bank. He found that Rs 98, 065 were debited against three transactions of Rs 37,625, Rs 16,950 and Rs 43,490 each on May 3.



"I was taken aback. I had no clue as to why and on what basis such large sums of money were withdrawn from my account," Singla told MiD DAY.
He immediately called up the bank customer care department, who asked him to file a police complaint. Singla lodged an FIR in the Miyawali Nagar police station in west Delhi.

"We make necessary verifications and observations when a dispute plea is placed. This is carried out with great care and scrutiny. We have a specialised team which will carry out verifications before judging the release of the dispute. We request you to seek police assistance for further resolution," the bank told Singla in a statement.

When he showed the statement of account to the police officers, they pointed out that all of the transactions

Fine print

Details of transactions are as under: Three purchases have been made on 03-05-10 BIL/000153575535/EBAY-PAISAPAY/266276286-Rs. 37,625 BIL/000153576073/EBAY-PAISAPAY/266277856-Rs. 16,950 BIL/000153576961/EBAY-PAISAPAY/266278861-Rs.u00a0 43,490

were for shopping on e-Bay. "The officer asked me to contact e-Bay and send them a copy of the FIR."
"I was able to save Rs 43,490, as the shipment of the product was yet to be carried out. As soon as I forwarded the copy of the complaint, e-Bay stopped the shipment and transferred the money back into my account," Singla said.

Yet, Singla is alleging that the police are not cooperating with him. "They are not disclosing the details of the person who has done this fraud." But the police clarified that the investigations into the case are still on. "Revealing any information at this point can compromise the probe," a senior police official attached to the Miyawali Police Station told MiD DAY.