A Common Online Bank Fraud In Pakistan | Precautions |

‘Online Bank Fraud’ is very common in Pakistan and many people have lost millions of rupees by falling prey to these online criminals who trap you smartly. These cyber-criminals leave no clue behind as Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and other law enforcing institutions are continuously behind them but the success-ration so far is not very impressive.

The fraud starts when your mobile phone bell rings and there is an unknown number on the screen. On receiving the call, the man on the other side would introduce himself as an officer of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Later he would give the basic secret information registered with your bank to give you the impression that you are talking to the right man. Then suddenly by making his tone a bit harsh, he would ‘stun’ you by saying:

“Sir, your bank account has been suspended; you can no longer use your ATM too. The information you provided to the bank is incorrect. Update your information right now if you want to get your account reinstated.”

As came to my knowledge and experience, the first reaction of most of the people to this call is that they are stunned, lose their language coherence, and don’t know how to respond? This is the point where some people who lose their sensibility and under immense mental stress provide the account details ‘he’ asks, lose everything in just minutes.

Remember, this is a very common online bank fraud in Pakistan and many innocent Pakistanis have lost their hard-earned money at the hands of these “Cyber-Bankers”. Those who lost their money will one day get it back INSHALLAH but those who have yet not come across these online cybercriminals should remain vigilant and keep their eyes and ears open.

How Can I save myself from ‘online cyber crimes’?

Remember these important instructions:

1. Come what may; never share your bank account details with any body, either on phone or personally.
2. If someone calls you, pretends himself as SBP or FBR officer, and asks for your secret bank account details, simply disconnect the phone.
3. Don’t forget that SBP, FBR or your bank will never ask about your bank account details on phone or personally. And if, someone tries to grab such secret information on phone is a fraud and that is 100% true.
4. Last but not the least, usually these online cybercriminals target people who have handsome amount of money in their accounts. So, be careful and instantly call your bank and FIA officials to report such callers.