Published On : Fri, Feb 27th, 2015

Bogus ICICI Bank employee seeks credit card details on phone, dupes customer

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Nagpur: With the use of plastic money reaching its peak in today’s hi-fi era the crimes related to it are also increasing in gigantic proportions. The plastic money, popularly and universally called credit card or debit card, is turning an easy tool for fraudsters to commit cyber crimes with impunity and loot gullible card holders.

Yet another cyber crime was added to the chart when an unidentified fake woman bank employee duped an account holder of ICICI Bank after procuring his credit card number on Wednesday.

The victim Shrikant Diwakar Deshpande (41), a resident of B 4/12, Forest Housing Society, near Centre Point School, Seminary Hills, received a call from the unidentified woman on his cell phone. The caller told him that she was a representative of Credit Card Customer Care Centre of ICICI Bank, Andheri, Mumbai. After winning confidence of Shrikant, the fake ICICI Bank woman employee asked him to provide her the Credit Card details. Believing the caller to be an employee of ICICI Bank, Shrikant provided all the details, including his Credit Card number, to her.

After procuring the details, the accused woman did online transactions of Rs 9,800 using his credit card number. When Deshpande received an SMS alert about the online transaction, he lodged a complaint with the police immediately.

On the basis of the complaint lodged by Deshpande, Gittikhadan Police booked the bogus ICICI Bank employee under Sections 419, 420 of the IPC read with Sections 66(c) and 66 (d) of the Information Technology Act, 2005. Further investigations are being carried out by the officers attached to Cyber Cell of the City Police.

Another angle:
In an incident reported to Nagpur Today, a customer of ICICI Bank narrated a different tale. He told Nagpur Today that on February 15, 2015, he received call from 09210178455. The caller identified himself as a representative of ICICI Bank and he is carrying out Credit Card verification. The caller told the customer that his present Credit Card has been blocked and that he will be given new one. The caller further told the customer that they don’t have time for personal verification so the customer will have to provide Credit Card details on phone only. The customer will have to give correct information of the Credit Card. The customer received such call 3-4 times and missed call three times as well.

The tone and tenure of the caller aroused suspicion about the authenticity of the representative. The customer called the representative and told him that he will not divulge any details on phone. The company has all the information in writing and on that basis they should send the new Credit Card. This line of action enraged the representative and he told the customer in threatening tone that if the customer failed to carry out telephonic verification the customer will be in trouble. The company will debit Rs 10,000 from his account and the amount will have to be paid in cash. Even if the customer uses the Credit Card or not.

The outraged customer told Nagpur Today that his Credit Card expiry is up to 2017. In between, any representative calls and demands details of the card. Several customers refuse to provide details on phone fearing misuse of the information. But the representatives threaten the customers with loss.

Nagpur Today version:
No bank ever sends any email/SMS requests for your Internet Banking Login ID, Password, Credit/Debit card numbers, Bank account numbers, or seek such sensitive information, including NET SECURE code over phone. If the customers receive a message of this type or telephonic call that appears to be from any bank do not respond. Instead, lodge a police complaint against the callers.
In the above said case, the caller identifying himself as representative of ICICI Bank or Credit Card company most probably a bogus one.