The recent major issue at UCO Bank and rapidly rising cases of bank fraud occurring on a daily basis have forced the Finance ministry to take serious notice, ToI reported on November 25.
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The Finance ministry and the parliamentary panel on ICT have finally decided to look into and tackle the matter, the report said.
Financial services secretary Vivek Joshi will hold some key consultations on the matter next week. Meetings will include those with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Trai, telecom department and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), among others.
The parliamentary pabel has already held consultations with the finance ministry and Punjab National Bank (PNB) MD.
The Department of Financial Services has enlisted the support of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), an agency under the home ministry.
The I4C will provide insights from the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal, which has been operational for four years, and share information on the challenges faced by law enforcement agencies. The State Bank of India’s experiences in dealing with the rising cybercrime threat will also be discussed.
Despite existing security measures and efforts by banks to educate customers on safeguarding their data, a significant number of fraud cases involve account holders sharing passwords or screens with fraudsters who then illicitly transfer funds. Banks have acknowledged limitations in protecting consumers in such scenarios, prompting regulatory authorities and the government to explore various options to prevent money transfers even after they have been initiated.
Reported fraud cases reached nearly 13,500 in the last year, compared to 9,100 in the previous fiscal year, marking an almost 50% increase. Some argue that these figures may not fully reflect the situation, as consumers often encounter difficulties in filing complaints.
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In a separate development, the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are investigating lapses at UCO Bank.
