VICTIM OF FRAUD IN BANK
BISWANATH BHATTACHARYA
March 12, 2023, 10:27:19
Early in the morning today, March 12, 2023, when I was still deep in sleep, I was awakened by the pinging of my mobile phone. Fortunately, I woke up enough to check the message. I had received an SMS message and also an email from Axis Bank reading as follows:
QUOTE
Dear Biswanath Bhattacharya,
Thank you for using your Card no. xxxxxxx for INR 1300 at GOOGLE PLAY on 12-03-23 07:01:15. The total credit limit on your card is INR xxxxxxxxxxxx, while the available limit is INR xxxxxxxxx.
SMS BLOCK xxxx to +918691000002 if this transaction is not done by you or call 18001035577 / 18604195555.
Always open to help you.
Regards,
Axis Bank Ltd.
UNQUOTE
Given the fact that I do not have Google Play installed and operational on my mobile phone; I do not have any dealings whatsoever with Google Play from any other device; I have not made any direct remittance to Google Play on behalf of any other person for any purpose whatsoever, and I have not authorized anyone else to use my credit card for any purpose whatsoever involving Google Play or any other payee, this message came as an astounding and nasty surprise.
A very important aspect of the whole matter is, I have not linked my Axis Bank credit card to any of my regular online purchase points, such as Amazon. This indicates the very strong possibility that this theft through fraudulent use of my credit card could only have occurred through the bank’s total negligence or even outright complicity of someone in the bank.
My Axis Bank credit card transaction record does not show any OTP sent to me, which further confirms the illegality of this transaction and the carelessness of the bank in permitting it without intimation of any kind, including OTP confirmation, to me.
In a rather extraordinary development, my immediate attempt to get my credit card blocked through SMS request to phone number 918691000002 went in vain. The message did not go through, and instead I was told, “We are facing technical issue difficulty. Please try again after some time - Axis Bank .”
All this reflects poorly on both Axis Bank’s protection of the security interests of its card bearing customers and the bank’s total negligence of their critical and urgent redress mechanisms.
I then called the Phone Banking Officer of Axis Bank at 1860 419 5555 and narrated the incident. When I questioned the officer about how the amount had been remitted without my authorisation in the form of OTP confirmation or any other means, the officer was fumbling for words and unable to make any sense at all, let alone give me a response that adequately answered my question..
I requested the officer to immediately block the card, while at the same time making a formal request for a replacement card. This communication was done through Fraud Alert Request No. SAK00001550619.
I also asked for a full refund of Rs.1300.
This is not the first time I have lost money on my Axis Bank credit card through a combination of a scammer’s activities and/ or the bank’s negligence and my total unawareness of what was going on because Axis Bank failed in its responsibilities to protect my interests.
Earlier, I lost Rs 6193, a sum that was debited twice instead of once on a purchase I had made from Microsoft. I made repeated representations to the concerned bank manager demanding a refund of the extraneous payment of Rs 6193, and though he promised me several times, he did not live up to his words, and now I am wondering if that is another characteristic of Axis Bank and its officers.
Usually, when I am the victim of fraud as In this case, I am unrelenting in my efforts to achieve redress, but here, I finally let it go so as not to jeopardize my personal relationship with that manager.
All of this naturally gives rise to the critical question: how far safe is the Axis Bank? And how earnest are its personnel in achieving redress for their customers?
On both counts, my experience with Axis Bank is very poor. It has proved to be unsafe.
And as a corollary, is any bank safe for that matter? And is any bank zealous in its pursuit of just redress for its customers?
I am posting this article on Facebook and my other social media outlets including LinkedIn / Twitter for creating awareness and in the hope that my friends and other concerned social media users will be so kind as to suggest better ways to me.
Credit cards are a powerful payment instrument as they allow you to easily avail an instant line of short-term credit while making transactions. This helps increase your purchasing power, while also offering benefits like ease of use, reward points and cashback. Regular, on-time payments can also improve your credit score which leads to easier long-term loan approvals. However, alongside all these merits, credit cards also run the risk of being targeted for fraud as I have been targeted to.
Credit card fraud can happen if someone physically steals your card or virtually hacks your account, and it can be a serious headache to resolve. But in my case, my credit card was not stolen. Since I do not purchase anything online or offline outside my house, there is no chance of shoulder surfing too. There is absolutely no chance that someone is privy to my CVV no or expiry date,
I am not a victim to PoS fraud, Phishing and vishing, or Keystroke logging.
Therefore, it gives rise to a suspicion that the net of fraud is far-reaching. I am not telling somebody of the Axis Bank has any role in the sinister design but can the possibility be at all ruled out?
In this case of fraud, the Branch Manager of Axis Bank Agartala has a definitive role to play. In a similarly situated incident, the State Bank of India helped me a lot in getting the total refund of the phished account. They walked the extra mile to help me.
The Axis Bank Agartala Branch may also tread in the same way as SBI and help me refunding of Rs (6193+1300)= Rs 7493.
Now, the hundred-dollar question is whether he will act. Not everyone Shyam Dhar Dubey of SBI !!!
One of my friends said that he was a victim of a fraud of $ 200.00 in a City Bank. The City bank on hearing of the incident immediately refunded the amount without any question.
In another incident, One of my friends having a city bank account was woken at about 0004 on someday only to find that some Air India tickets were bought in New York and a horde of other things. No OTP is needed. His drowsiness went for a toss. Citi reversed the transactions, without any question. I’ve limited international transactions on my cards.
Will Axis Bank, Agartala, listen to it?
(Tripurainfo)