Delhi based high-profile senior citizen doctor loses money from ICICI bank in cyber fraud

Dr Gupta who worked closely with PMO during tenure of Dr Manmohan Singh loses Rs. 2.71 lakh from his savings account of ICICI bank. The bank temporarily credits money and puts a stopcock in using money till investigation is completed.  

Mumbai

A Delhi based senior citizen Dr Arun Gupta on June 1, received an email from his bank on multiple transactions from his savings account. The email from his ICICI bank mentioned transactions to the tune of approximately Rs. 2.71 lakh. Dr Gupta was shocked as none of the mentioned transactions were by him.  Realising that it was a case of cyber fraud, he registered a First Information Report (FIR) at Shalimar Bagh Police Station under Delhi Police for cheating.

Ever since the unfortunate incident, Dr Gupta is now running from pillar to pillar pleading with the ICICI bank to allow him to use his money now in their custody. Dr Gupta, a pediatrician by profession and was formerly associated as an advisory doctor in the panel of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) during the tenure of Dr Manmohan Singh.

“On May 28, my wife Dr Rita received a phone call, on her mobile which is linked to my account with ICICI branch in Pitampura Delhi. The caller identified him from Vodafone-Idea Communication service and shared the SIM card number by saying it would expire if not updated. He gave the SIM card number of the phone to my wife that made her believe it was a genuine call from a service Provider Company. She did Send the SIM number to “12345”. However, later the phone became deactivated. On June 1, I learnt that we were cheated only after the bank intimated seven transactions to the tune of Rs. 2.71 lakh from my savings account, “said Dr Gupta.

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Only after activation of the mobile phone on June 4, the senior citizen doctor couple realized that they did not receive an OTP on the phone while it was dead.

“I have written to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) as to how the fraudster accessed the SIM card number of the customer. Also have written to the authorities in the Ministry of Information and Technology, and ICICI bank as the system has several lacunae,” informed Dr Gupta.  

He told that he is not fighting only about the fraud and its investigation by the local police but his contention that the bank is custodian of the money and thus they should allow the customer to use temporary credited money. Although the ICICI bank has temporarily credited money to the same savings account of Dr Gupta but he is not permitted to use it. Dr Gupta alleged that the ICICI bank has abdicated its responsibility to protect the money of its customers deposited in the bank.

Dr Gupta said, “He approached the bank and told them to make a new account in the same branch and transfer his temporarily credited money so they can use it. However, the bank has refused it. It is my money, I am the victim and the ICICI bank is treating me like a criminal. As per RBI guidelines, Banks cannot claim from customers’ amount lost by them due to Online Fraud. They are asking me to wait till the investigation is completed by the cybercrime cell of police, which means I cannot use my money at all till police closes the case.”

An ICICI Bank spokesperson said, “Prima facie, this appears to be a case of SIM swap and phishing fraud. ICICI Bank at all times acts in good faith towards all its customers without any prejudicial intent. In this case, too, we are in touch with the customer. We will also provide full co-operation in the investigation of this case.”

The Spokesperson further said, “When we learnt about the fraud, we immediately gave temporary credit to the customer, pending investigation. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the amount will either be available for use or will be withdrawn. We would like to re-iterate that ICICI Bank has robust and best-in-class security systems in place for its internet banking. Further, as part of our ‘safe banking’ campaign, we constantly communicate with all our customers that they should never share their banking related information with anyone.”

Meanwhile, though the bank claimed it has provided temporary credit and it is seen in the account of Dr Gupta, the senior citizen said that he is not allowed to use the money an the amount in his bank account has not yet restored.