Bhopal: On Wednesday, thirty-two lakh debit cards of nineteen of India’s largest banks including SBI, Axis Bank, HDFC and others were hacked. Close to 3.2 million customers across 19 banks could have been impacted by a breach in debit card networks, according to an official statement. As many as 641 customers have, so far, complained of fraudulent transactions involving Rs 1.3 crore, said the statement which went on to add that “necessary corrective action” has already been taken.
Free Press Journal spoke to bank customers to know whether they are feeling vulnerable and are they changing PIN of their credit cards.
This was waiting to happen,
I’m not surprised because I know from the very beginning that such a situation will come one day due to lack of proper training of bank staff as well as customers. I’ve worked for Royal Bank of Scotland and ABN Ambro in enterprise security. In India, we don’t give training on how to handle confidential data. Personally I approached many banks, including RBI, with A request to provide proper training to the staff but they didn’t pay any attention. If we want to prevent such situations, training should be mandatory on handling confidential data in every bank. Banks should also inform customers regarding the dos and don’ts by organising workshops. Ye to hona hi tha. Jab tak banks ke sath fraud nahi hoga tab tak ye log nahi jagenge.
Sushma Agrawal, Ex IT manger and social activist
I will not use my ATM card,
We also accept payments by swiping the credit or debit cards of our customers but such case never happened. It is really a very big fraud. I also use ATM card but after hearing about the fraud, I’m thinking of blocking my ATM card. I won’t use the card until I get a replacement. Till then I’ll use net banking because philhal isme khatra nahi hai.
Girish,Keshwani,
Owner of Travel agency
I will use cheque book,
Yes, I heard about it the last night through my friend. It’s shocking news for the banks who want to do paperless banking. I haven’t changed my ATM card but I’ll do so soon. Till then, I will use my cheque book. Isse online transfer per bahot jayad fark padega.
-Anant Sahu, Artist
I will change my PIN,
Yes, I heard about such fraud cases earlier too. Still I didn’t change either my ATM card or PIN but I’m thinking about changing them now.
Ragini Shukla, Engineering student
I know nothing about the fraud,
I’m trying to deposit money in my brother’s account for last one hour in SBI, New Market but it is not accepting the cash. Before this, I tried to transfer money online. My brother is in Hyderabad and he needs money. I also complained to the management of the bank but to no avail. I haven’t heard about the fraud case.
-Arshad Khan, engineering student
We are issuing new cards,
“We are taking all precautions. SBI has taken precautionary measures and blocked the cards of certain identified customers to protect them from any potential fraud. It will issue new cards at no cost to customers whose cards have been blocked.
-SBI official
