Fraud is a criminal offense when a person cheats on others for personal or financial gain. The increase in internet banking and online transactions has made financial give and takes very easy, at the same time number of financial frauds, especially online banking frauds have started increasing day by day.
A purposeful act or omission or conduct by any person in the course of a banking transaction or in the bank’s books of accounts that results in unlawful temporary gain to any individual or otherwise, with or without monetary loss to the bank, is defined as bank fraud.
Criminals are always looking for new ways to defraud you of your hard-earned money, and it can be difficult to track down the offender once the transaction is completed. If your bank account has been hacked, you must act quickly to report the crime and minimize your losses, whether you have been a victim of identity theft or your debit card information has been hacked.
Here’s what you can do:
If you discover an unlawful transaction on your account, follow these procedures.
- Make a call to your bank. According to RBI regulations, if an illegal transaction is detected quickly, the bank will reimburse the lost funds if the bank determines that the account holder is not at fault.
- Make a police or fraud report.
- Block your current account and transfer your funds to a new account or credit card.
- Keep a close eye on your account and credit.
Report your Bank
1- Collect all information related to your transaction
Gather any documents or other information you have before contacting your bank so that your bank can move immediately to help you reduce your losses.
Make sure you have your bank account information and debit card number on hand at the very least. If you believe your information was taken as a result of a data breach at a retailer, simply telling your bank that you shopped there during the breach dates may be enough to protect your account.
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2- Contact the right contact number of the bank
Most banks have specific customer support to report fraudulent activity, but the number can differ based on the type of fraud like debit card fraud, credit card fraud, online banking fraud, etc.
- Banks have toll-free numbers you can call anytime 24 hours a day, therefore you quickly inform bank representatives about the bank information has been hacked or misused.
- If you are not able to find the number, you can directly get in touch with the general customer service number to quickly speak to someone personally.
- After reporting the fraud, send a written letter explaining your report of fraud and what the representatives of the bank asked to counteract it.
3- Cancel your debit card
To avoid additional loss, your debit card number should be canceled and a new card produced as quickly as possible if it was stolen or caught up in a data breach at a merchant.
-As per federal law, after reporting cancellation of debit/credit card your liability of processed transactions is over.
-It is very important to report fraud as soon as possible to avoid future losses.
4-Keep an eye on your bank account
Even after reporting fraudulent transactions, it is wise to keep checking your account activity on a regular basis to make sure there are no more suspicious transactions.
-If you have an online account, do check your online transactions at least once a day, and don’t be lazy to report even the smallest transaction that isn’t known to you.
-Charges related to fraudulent transactions may continue to reflect in your account even after the actual incident of fraud.
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Reporting to Law Enforcement
1-Get contact details of your regional police station
You can either directly call your local police station, or information about your financial fraud through dedicated hotlines if any.
-Some police departments offer online forms where you can fill and submit to detailed reports about financial fraud.
-Contact details of local enforcement agencies across the country is available at
https://www.india.gov.in/topics/home-affairs-enforcement
2-Collect all details related to fraud
Organize all of your information and make copies of any pertinent papers before submitting your report. Police make investigation crimes based on state law categories. Police will not carry on an investigation until you provide any evidence.
3- Submit your report
After collection of all evidence and information, submit your report to the police department with the exact description of exactly what happened.
-Describe everything step by step including events and behavior of transactions which lead you to believe that it was a fraudulent transaction.
-Detailed description with actual date and time will give you an upper hand to help them remember them and take more precise actions.
4- Don’t forget to take a police report copy with you
Yes! You will need a police report copy for your future records. There might be a requirement to submit an FIR report copy, or reference number to your bank as well. Therefore it is recommended to take a police report copy with you.
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Submit a complaint to the online cybercrime portal
For online fraud, you can file a cyber crime complaint in India. Here is the procedure:
Step 1:
First of all register a written complaint with the cybercrime cell of your city of residence.
Step 2:
The cybercrime office will ask for your personal details like name, contact, and mailing details.
Step 3: A legal counselor will help you to report your complete matter to the police station. You may also be asked to offer some legal documents if needed according to the situation of the crime.
Step 4: If you are unable to reach a cyber cell, you should file an FIR at your nearest police station. If they don’t respond, you can go to a judicial magistrate or commissioner.
Step 5: You can also report your cyber fraud on the official website of CERT. CERT is an agency established to respond to cyber security incidents as per the information technology amendment act 2008 and Section 70B of the IT Act 2000.
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