In The Midst Of Bank Frauds, Govt To Convene Meeting with RBI, Trai, NPCI

In response to the recent challenges at UCO Bank and a surge in daily fraud cases, the finance ministry and the parliamentary panel on ICT have initiated investigations. Financial services secretary Vivek Joshi is set to confer with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Trai, the telecom department and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) next week. Simultaneously, the standing committee has already engaged in discussions with the finance ministry and the Managing Director of Punjab National Bank (PNB).

The Department of Financial Services has enlisted the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), an agency under the home ministry, to provide insights from the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal's four-year data and address existing challenges. Despite ongoing efforts by banks to educate consumers on data security, instances persist where account holders unknowingly share passwords or screens with fraudsters. Recognising the limitations faced by banks in protecting consumers, the regulator and government are exploring various measures to halt the outflow of funds even after they have been transferred between accounts.

Reported fraud cases saw a significant increase, with nearly 13,500 cases in the last year compared to 9,100 in FY22—an almost 50 per cent rise. However, concerns linger that these numbers might not fully capture the extent of the issue, as consumers often encounter challenges in registering complaints.

In a separate inquiry, the government and the RBI are scrutinizing lapses at UCO Bank.