Cyber fraud? Bank blames internal fault in Kalyan Banerjee case
What's the story
Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee has raised concerns over the increasing incidents of cyber fraud after falling victim to a scam himself. Speaking to NDTV, he said if a public representative like him could be duped, what would happen to common people? "If a person like me were to fall under the trap of bank fraud, what will the common people face?" he asked.
Fraud details
Scammers siphoned off nearly ₹57 lakh from his account
Banerjee, the Serampore MP from West Bengal, revealed that a dormant State Bank of India (SBI) account was targeted in the fraud. "Someone did the scam by using KYC. My photo was superimposed. PAN and Aadhaar were used wrongfully," he said. "Using that account, nearly Rs 57 lakh has been siphoned from my account that I won as MP," he said.
Investigation underway
Fraud detected, SBI credited money: MP
Banerjee said that after the fraud was detected, SBI filed a complaint with the Kolkata Police's cybercrime division. The case is now under investigation. "After SBI lodged a complaint, the case has been under investigation. On Friday night, the SBI credited ₹57 lakh in my Parliament account," he added. The bank attributed this to an internal fault in their system.
Fraud method
Probe into the case underway
According to official sources, cybercriminals accessed Banerjee's old SBI account through multiple unauthorized transactions. The account was reportedly opened between 2001 and 2006 when he was an MLA of Asansol South. Investigators said forged PAN and Aadhaar cards were used to carry out the fraud. Senior Kolkata Police officials have been asked to probe the case thoroughly as investigations continue.