Consumer body worried at fraudulent banking transactions in SBI

Special Correspondent

Silchar: Worried at online fraudulent banking transactions at the main branch of SBI here for sometimes now, Grahak Suraksha Samiti (GSS) has taken up the matter with the Chairman of State Bank of India based at Mumbai. In a missive submitted to him through the assistant general manager of Silchar, it has been stated that the depositors falling prey to fraud have never applied for online banking facility.

Term deposit certificates of those targeted by the frauds were with the depositors and they did not surrender them to the SBI branch. How could bank then allow the transaction and resultant withdrawal of money without getting the printed and signed certificates? The responsibility entirely vests with the bank, it has been pointed out. Without connivance of bank employees, it is not possible to take away money from such term deposits as the papers and certificates are kept confidential in the custody of the bank. It is common knowledge that term deposits can be encashed after surrender of the certificates and verification of signatures by competent bank officer, the memorandum specifies.

Surprisingly, the pass book updating machines in the branch remain inoperative for weeks even for months. One manned counter was put in service for updating the pass books. The SBI withdrew the facility much before the frauds took place, it has been further stated. The mobile phones of the victims, alleged GSS, were kept inoperative quite mysteriously. SBI charges like other banks fees for maintenance of accounts and the frequent printing of passbooks can not be insisted upon. The incidents one after another took place in the same branch. After the reporting of first case, the bank should have taken foolproof preventive measures against it being repeated.

It was clear the higher authorities of the bank adopted a lackadaisical attitude and did not take immediate action or were kept totally in the dark by the branch here, the memorandum signed by Dr Saurindra Kumar Bhattacharjee, president of GSS, and Biplob Kumar Goswami, general secretary, alleged. Complaints in this regard have also been lodged by senior citizens’ forums to the SBI’ head office, zonal office and regional office through petitions and emails, but to no effect. The consumer body has suggested net banking facility should not be given to any one without receiving applications from the customers or depositors and subsequent verification.

The Proactive Senior Citizens’ Forum has said Jogomoy Das, retired employee of water resource department and an inhabitant of Machhughat, Dudhpatil, lost Rs 14.5 lakh and Simul Kumar Deb, ex employee of social welfare department and resident of Malugram of this town, lost Rs 14 lakh from their fixed deposit schemes and saving accounts. The customers have their term deposit certificates and passbooks with them. The Bank says the deposits were transferred by net banking while the customers they never applied for this online facility.

It appears the soft targets, as pointed out by Prof Dilip Dey, president of Proactive Senior Citizens’ Forum, are senior citizens who keep their hard earned gratuity, pension, group insurance money, leave encashment and other earnings in banks for safety and accrued benefits. Both the GSS and the Forum have called for through investigation into these frauds in order to bring to the fore before public the vicious racket involved in it.

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