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Economic Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Bank frauds in India have tripled and they need a sensible response
Bank frauds in India have tripled. Payment scams are increasing rapidly. Digital transactions account for more than half of all frauds. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is attracting criminals. The banking system needs stronger guardrails. The Reserve Bank of India is developing an AI tool. The stock-market regulator is adding a layer of security. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of Bank frauds in India have tripled in value. But that's only because some of the cases reported previously were reinvestigated and appeared in the new data. More worrying than the surge in the amount, however, is the rise in the number of payment scams over the past couple of years. The solution lies in rewarding better of the stealing from banks occurs the traditional way: via loans obtained with the help of forged documents or bribes. Customers, though, are increasingly at risk of being cheated when they make payments. According to the central bank's latest annual report, more than half of frauds took place in digital or card-based transactions, even though they accounted for only 1.4% of the $4 billion in these are just the situations where the sums involved were 100,000 rupees ($1,160) or more. Thanks to a wildly popular smartphone-based payments network, much smaller values are being exchanged online for person-to-person and person-to-merchant transactions. The so-called Unified Payments Interface is instantaneous, available 24/7 and mostly imposes no cost on logging more than a million cases of hustle and con annually, according to separate government data. And this is just what's getting reported. Unless they are extremely careful, the more affluent depositors don't even come to know that they're being slowly growth of the UPI, which handles more than $3 trillion a year, puts enormous pressure on the system. It was bound to attract criminals. Payment intermediaries have warned customers of the various ways — from simple phishing attacks to sophisticated cloning of SIM cards — in which they may fall prey to the banking system can't shrug off its responsibility with a 'buyer beware.' It needs stronger guardrails. Anyone can set up a virtual ID to ask customers for money online. That freedom is welcome. But not when it turns out that the bank account linked to 'amazon@pockets' belongs to Ckjxh Fiddbh, which doesn't appear to be a real name. (The example, though, is real, cited in security researcher Karan Saini's investigation.)Payment frauds happen everywhere. Brazil's PIX, which ranks alongside India's UPI as among the fastest-growing account-to-account transfer systems worldwide, is notorious for its 'PIX gangs.'What makes India's case problematic is that scamsters have learned to coexist alongside a vast digital identity database, a biometrics-based unique number and card through which 1.4 billion people establish who they are. It hasn't stopped identity theft. India's banks are constantly bombarding customers with 'know-your-customer' checks, asking for the same documents again and again. Yet 'mules' continue to thrive. Accounts of unsuspecting customers are used by, among others, online bookmakers located overseas to provide illegal access to casinos and cricket betting via Reserve Bank of India 's innovation hub has come up with an artificial-intelligence tool called ' It's now building a prototype for an intelligence platform covering all digital payments. However, it isn't enough to merely identify suspicious transactions. As analysts have pointed out, the local money-laundering laws do not allow banks to take prompt preventive action, or to restore funds to their rightful sectors of the economy can't wait for legal changes. The stock-market regulator has decided to add a layer of security to investment funds changing hands online. From October, a @valid suffix on virtual payment handles will be mandatory for brokers, investment advisers, research analysts, merchant bankers, and mutual funds to collect payments from are all stopgaps. Ultimately, New Delhi must put the payment industry on a sustainable footing. Five years ago, it decided that UPI transfers to merchants should be free for users to encourage digitization. The goal has been realized. Although the government denied just last week that it has any such plans, it's time to allow banks and apps like Google Pay and PhonePe to recoup their fact, the National Payments Corporation of India, the public monopoly that runs the network, should now face competition. Let private operators charge a basic transaction fee to offer institutional-grade government can maintain its explicit incentives to promote low-value cashless payments at the bottom of the economic pyramid. As for other customers, a high-volume, competitive market would keep a lid on fees, while offering them greater peace of will also heave a sigh of relief. Payment is a utility they must provide to depositors so they have the liquidity to lend. Frauds are becoming a costly distraction.
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Business Standard
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Banks in need of better security as payment frauds triple in value
Bank frauds in India have tripled in value. But that's only because some of the cases reported previously were reinvestigated and appeared in the new data. More worrying than the surge in the amount, however, is the rise in the number of payment scams over the past couple of years. The solution lies in rewarding better security. Most of the stealing from banks occurs the traditional way: via loans obtained with the help of forged documents or bribes. Customers, though, are increasingly at risk of being cheated when they make payments. According to the central bank's latest annual report, more than half of frauds took place in digital or card-based transactions, even though they accounted for only 1.4 per cent of the $4 billion in scams. And these are just the situations where the sums involved were 100,000 rupees ($1,160) or more. Thanks to a wildly popular smartphone-based payments network, much smaller values are being exchanged online for person-to-person and person-to-merchant transactions. The so-called Unified Payments Interface is instantaneous, available 24/7 and mostly imposes no cost on users. It's logging more than a million cases of hustle and con annually, according to separate government data. And this is just what's getting reported. Unless they are extremely careful, the more affluent depositors don't even come to know that they're being slowly bled. The growth of the UPI, which handles more than $3 trillion a year, puts enormous pressure on the system. It was bound to attract criminals. Payment intermediaries have warned customers of the various ways — from simple phishing attacks to sophisticated cloning of SIM cards — in which they may fall prey to swindlers. Yet the banking system can't shrug off its responsibility with a 'buyer beware.' It needs stronger guardrails. Anyone can set up a virtual ID to ask customers for money online. That freedom is welcome. But not when it turns out that the bank account linked to 'amazon@pockets' belongs to Ckjxh Fiddbh, which doesn't appear to be a real name. (The example, though, is real, cited in security researcher Karan Saini's investigation.) Payment frauds happen everywhere. Brazil's PIX, which ranks alongside India's UPI as among the fastest-growing account-to-account transfer systems worldwide, is notorious for its 'PIX gangs.' What makes India's case problematic is that scamsters have learned to coexist alongside a vast digital identity database, a biometrics-based unique number and card through which 1.4 billion people establish who they are. It hasn't stopped identity theft. India's banks are constantly bombarding customers with 'know-your-customer' checks, asking for the same documents again and again. Yet 'mules' continue to thrive. Accounts of unsuspecting customers are used by, among others, online bookmakers located overseas to provide illegal access to casinos and cricket betting via cryptocurrencies. The Reserve Bank of India's innovation hub has come up with an artificial-intelligence tool called ' It's now building a prototype for an intelligence platform covering all digital payments. However, it isn't enough to merely identify suspicious transactions. As analysts have pointed out, the local money-laundering laws do not allow banks to take prompt preventive action, or to restore funds to their rightful owners. Critical sectors of the economy can't wait for legal changes. The stock-market regulator has decided to add a layer of security to investment funds changing hands online. From October, a @valid suffix on virtual payment handles will be mandatory for brokers, investment advisers, research analysts, merchant bankers, and mutual funds to collect payments from investors. These are all stopgaps. Ultimately, New Delhi must put the payment industry on a sustainable footing. Five years ago, it decided that UPI transfers to merchants should be free for users to encourage digitization. The goal has been realized. Although the government denied just last week that it has any such plans, it's time to allow banks and apps like Google Pay and PhonePe to recoup their costs. In fact, the National Payments Corporation of India, the public monopoly that runs the network, should now face competition. Let private operators charge a basic transaction fee to offer institutional-grade security. The government can maintain its explicit incentives to promote low-value cashless payments at the bottom of the economic pyramid. As for other customers, a high-volume, competitive market would keep a lid on fees, while offering them greater peace of mind. Banks will also heave a sigh of relief. Payment is a utility they must provide to depositors so they have the liquidity to lend. Frauds are becoming a costly distraction.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
View: India's bank frauds need a sensible response
Bank frauds in India have tripled in value. But that's only because some of the cases reported previously were reinvestigated and appeared in the new data. More worrying than the surge in the amount, however, is the rise in the number of payment scams over the past couple of years. The solution lies in rewarding better security. Most of the stealing from banks occurs the traditional way: via loans obtained with the help of forged documents or bribes. Customers, though, are increasingly at risk of being cheated when they make payments. According to the central bank's latest annual report, more than half of frauds took place in digital or card-based transactions, even though they accounted for only 1.4% of the $4 billion in scams. And these are just the situations where the sums involved were 100,000 rupees ($1,160) or more. Thanks to a wildly popular smartphone-based payments network, much smaller values are being exchanged online for person-to-person and person-to-merchant transactions. The so-called Unified Payments Interface is instantaneous, available 24/7 and mostly imposes no cost on users. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Gorka: Scholarships You Can Apply For (Start Now) Google Search Search Now Undo It's logging more than a million cases of hustle and con annually, according to separate government data. And this is just what's getting reported. Unless they are extremely careful, the more affluent depositors don't even come to know that they're being slowly bled. Bloomberg Live Events The growth of the UPI, which handles more than $3 trillion a year, puts enormous pressure on the system. It was bound to attract criminals. Payment intermediaries have warned customers of the various ways — from simple phishing attacks to sophisticated cloning of SIM cards — in which they may fall prey to swindlers. Yet the banking system can't shrug off its responsibility with a 'buyer beware.' It needs stronger guardrails. Anyone can set up a virtual ID to ask customers for money online. That freedom is welcome. But not when it turns out that the bank account linked to 'amazon@pockets' belongs to Ckjxh Fiddbh, which doesn't appear to be a real name. (The example, though, is real, cited in security researcher Karan Saini's investigation.) Payment frauds happen everywhere. Brazil's PIX, which ranks alongside India's UPI as among the fastest-growing account-to-account transfer systems worldwide, is notorious for its 'PIX gangs.' What makes India's case problematic is that scamsters have learned to coexist alongside a vast digital identity database, a biometrics-based unique number and card through which 1.4 billion people establish who they are. It hasn't stopped identity theft. India's banks are constantly bombarding customers with 'know-your-customer' checks, asking for the same documents again and again. Yet 'mules' continue to thrive. Accounts of unsuspecting customers are used by, among others, online bookmakers located overseas to provide illegal access to casinos and cricket betting via cryptocurrencies. The Reserve Bank of India 's innovation hub has come up with an artificial-intelligence tool called ' It's now building a prototype for an intelligence platform covering all digital payments. However, it isn't enough to merely identify suspicious transactions. As analysts have pointed out, the local money-laundering laws do not allow banks to take prompt preventive action, or to restore funds to their rightful owners. Critical sectors of the economy can't wait for legal changes. The stock-market regulator has decided to add a layer of security to investment funds changing hands online. From October, a @valid suffix on virtual payment handles will be mandatory for brokers, investment advisers, research analysts, merchant bankers, and mutual funds to collect payments from investors. These are all stopgaps. Ultimately, New Delhi must put the payment industry on a sustainable footing. Five years ago, it decided that UPI transfers to merchants should be free for users to encourage digitization. The goal has been realized. Although the government denied just last week that it has any such plans, it's time to allow banks and apps like Google Pay and PhonePe to recoup their costs. In fact, the National Payments Corporation of India, the public monopoly that runs the network, should now face competition. Let private operators charge a basic transaction fee to offer institutional-grade security. The government can maintain its explicit incentives to promote low-value cashless payments at the bottom of the economic pyramid. As for other customers, a high-volume, competitive market would keep a lid on fees, while offering them greater peace of mind. Banks will also heave a sigh of relief. Payment is a utility they must provide to depositors so they have the liquidity to lend. Frauds are becoming a costly distraction.
Mint
5 days ago
- Business
- Mint
India's Bank Frauds Need a Sensible Response
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Bank frauds in India have tripled in value. But that's only because some of the cases reported previously were reinvestigated and appeared in the new data. More worrying than the surge in the amount, however, is the rise in the number of payment scams over the past couple of years. The solution lies in rewarding better security. Most of the stealing from banks occurs the traditional way: via loans obtained with the help of forged documents or bribes. Customers, though, are increasingly at risk of being cheated when they make payments. According to the central bank's latest annual report, more than half of frauds took place in digital or card-based transactions, even though they accounted for only 1.4% of the $4 billion in scams. And these are just the situations where the sums involved were 100,000 rupees ($1,160) or more. Thanks to a wildly popular smartphone-based payments network, much smaller values are being exchanged online for person-to-person and person-to-merchant transactions. The so-called Unified Payments Interface is instantaneous, available 24/7 and mostly imposes no cost on users. It's logging more than a million cases of hustle and con annually, according to separate government data. And this is just what's getting reported. Unless they are extremely careful, the more affluent depositors don't even come to know that they're being slowly bled. The growth of the UPI, which handles more than $3 trillion a year, puts enormous pressure on the system. It was bound to attract criminals. Payment intermediaries have warned customers of the various ways — from simple phishing attacks to sophisticated cloning of SIM cards — in which they may fall prey to swindlers. Yet the banking system can't shrug off its responsibility with a 'buyer beware.' It needs stronger guardrails. Anyone can set up a virtual ID to ask customers for money online. That freedom is welcome. But not when it turns out that the bank account linked to 'amazon@pockets' belongs to Ckjxh Fiddbh, which doesn't appear to be a real name. (The example, though, is real, cited in security researcher Karan Saini's investigation.) Payment frauds happen everywhere. Brazil's PIX, which ranks alongside India's UPI as among the fastest-growing account-to-account transfer systems worldwide, is notorious for its 'PIX gangs.' What makes India's case problematic is that scamsters have learned to coexist alongside a vast digital identity database, a biometrics-based unique number and card through which 1.4 billion people establish who they are. It hasn't stopped identity theft. India's banks are constantly bombarding customers with 'know-your-customer' checks, asking for the same documents again and again. Yet 'mules' continue to thrive. Accounts of unsuspecting customers are used by, among others, online bookmakers located overseas to provide illegal access to casinos and cricket betting via cryptocurrencies. The Reserve Bank of India's innovation hub has come up with an artificial-intelligence tool called ' It's now building a prototype for an intelligence platform covering all digital payments. However, it isn't enough to merely identify suspicious transactions. As analysts have pointed out, the local money-laundering laws do not allow banks to take prompt preventive action, or to restore funds to their rightful owners. Critical sectors of the economy can't wait for legal changes. The stock-market regulator has decided to add a layer of security to investment funds changing hands online. From October, a @valid suffix on virtual payment handles will be mandatory for brokers, investment advisers, research analysts, merchant bankers, and mutual funds to collect payments from investors. These are all stopgaps. Ultimately, New Delhi must put the payment industry on a sustainable footing. Five years ago, it decided that UPI transfers to merchants should be free for users to encourage digitization. The goal has been realized. Although the government denied just last week that it has any such plans, it's time to allow banks and apps like Google Pay and PhonePe to recoup their costs. In fact, the National Payments Corporation of India, the public monopoly that runs the network, should now face competition. Let private operators charge a basic transaction fee to offer institutional-grade security. The government can maintain its explicit incentives to promote low-value cashless payments at the bottom of the economic pyramid. As for other customers, a high-volume, competitive market would keep a lid on fees, while offering them greater peace of mind. Banks will also heave a sigh of relief. Payment is a utility they must provide to depositors so they have the liquidity to lend. Frauds are becoming a costly distraction. More From Bloomberg Opinion: This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Andy Mukherjee is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies and financial services in Asia. Previously, he worked for Reuters, the Straits Times and Bloomberg News. More stories like this are available on
The Hindu
29-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Courts cannot remain mute spectators, Karnataka HC says in order to ban Proton Mail over digital sexual abuse
The Karnataka High Court, which ordered the Union government to block Proton Mail in India last month, released the full written version of its judgement on Thursday (May 29, 2025), in which it observed that courts could not remain 'mute spectators' when such a platform became a 'menace'. Its order was in response to a complaint that Proton had refused to help identify users sexually harassing a woman via the Swiss end-to-end encrypted email platform. Despite the April 29 order, Proton Mail is still easily accessible in most of India. Karan Saini, a security researcher who has developed a tool to detect website blocking by various internet service providers, told The Hindu that as of Thursday (May 29, 2025), most ISPs did not seem to be blocking Proton Mail. The text of the full judgement shows that K. Arvind Kamath, the Additional Solicitor General of India who represented the Union government in the case, did not push back on the court's right to block Proton Mail. However, he said that such orders 'require procedure to be followed and the balance of bilateral relations between the two countries.' Swiss authorities had reportedly engaged with the Union government on Proton's behalf after a complaint last year. The High Court's order directed the Union government to 'initiate proceedings in terms of Section 69A of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008 r/w Rule 10 of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009 to block Proton Mail... Till such proceedings are taken up by the Government of India, the offending Uniform Resource Locator - URLs that are indicated in the petition shall be blocked forthwith.' 'Undermines women's privacy, integrity' The order came in response to a petition filed by M Moser Design Associates, a Bengaluru-based firm which said that it had received multiple emails from an anonymous Proton Mail account targeting a senior executive at the firm. The judgement described the first email from the anonymous account as containing 'obscene, abusive, vulgar, sexually coloured, derogatory and defamatory remarks in respect of one of the female senior personnel' of the company. While the email ID was taken down after M Moser Design complained to Proton, another account sent a similarly obscene email within the same week. Even following formal complaints to the police, Proton Mail did not provide any details that could lead to the identification of the individual or individuals behind the account. An email by the platform reproduced in the order said that Proton would only be able to act on a formal law enforcement request from India. 'Courts cannot remain mute spectators when faced with such menace which undermines privacy and integrity of women in particular,' the order said. Swiss intervention Proton AG, which runs the email platform, said in a post last year that Swiss authorities had interceded on its behalf after a formal recommendation by Tamil Nadu police to block Proton Mail in India. This year too, Proton Mail updated that blog post after the High Court pronounced its judgement, saying that Swiss authorities were engaging the Indian government in the matter. However, Marc Løebekken, Head of Legal at Proton, told The Hindu that this was an erroneous statement, as the update was referring to discussions Swiss representatives had with India last year. The blog was eventually amended. Mr. Løebekken told The Hindu on May 10 that the company was awaiting the publication of the court order in full. A Proton spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment after the court order was released. The company was not represented in the Karnataka High Court. Jurisdiction hurdles 'The investigation, though earnest, in endeavour, faltered against the bulwark of international jurisdiction, and encryption,' the court said. 'The State machinery hamstrung, by the absence of enforceable cooperation from Proton AG and the lack of a server within its jurisdiction, submitted its helplessness, in the form of a report.' Ordering the blocking, the court said that Proton 'undoubtedly falls short of the duties prescribed under Indian Law,' adding that the firm's 'inaction and opacity strike at the heart of digital accountability and embolden the malicious.'
