Online banking frauds agitate locals

While online banking deserves its due credit for simplifying daily transfers and transactions, which earlier required frequent trips to the bank or ATM, it has simultaneously provided a gateway for scammers to exploit technologically inexperienced citizens and covertly steal their money.

One such local was Shahid Ali Shah, who had Rs80,000 fraudulently withdrawn from his account through the mobile banking app during recent holidays. “When contacted the bank they directed me to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The FIA told me that they already had many complaints pending, therefore I would have to wait for my turn. However, more than a month has come to pass and still no action has been taken,” lamented Shah.

Similarly, Asif Chaudhry, another victim of online banking fraud, was targeted by scammers who applied for an online loan of Rs0.5 million using his bank account. “Even though the bank cancelled the loan payment, the FIA has still not been able to trace the fraudster,” revealed Chaudhry.

In his defence, FIA’s Additional Director Law, Masood Naseem maintained that the investigation of online fraud naturally took at least one to three months. “In cases of hacking, scammers withdraw money from people's bank accounts and before we can trace the fraudster’s identity, the money is transferred to multiple other accounts or is withdrawn through Jazz Cash, Raast account or other microfinance apps, making the process of investigation fairly difficult. As many as 90 per cent of the cases that have come up arise due to the negligence of the victims,” said Naseem.

Agreeing with Naseem, Jahangir Khan, Operations Manager at a bank, confirmed that online banking fraud mostly occurred as a result of account holders carelessly sharing their one-time passwords (OTPs) with scammers over the phone. “Even many educated people are becoming victims of cyber fraud. FIA officials are unable to take more complaints since the rate of online banking fraud has increased tremendously,” claimed Khan.

According to documents obtained by the Express Tribune, cases of online banking fraud in Punjab have increased by almost 1,871 per cent over the past five years, with 557 cases reported in 2019 and 10,980 cases identified in 2023. Furthermore, a total of 29,000 incidents of cyber fraud have been reported during the same time frame, with 15 to 17 cases filed each day.

“Online banking fraud has topped the rate of cybercrime in Pakistan. There is no awareness among people on the flip side of digital finance. The actual number of online fraud cases would be three times higher than those reported since many people are unaware of the procedure for its investigation,” opined Shahid Hussain, an IT expert.

“During the investigation process, FIA has to investigate several aspects of the incident including the details of the mobile SIMs which have been used. This is a long process. For this, we have to write to the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) hence, 90 to 180 days are reserved for these inquiries. If the accused are caught, they are punished with imprisonment for up to seven years,” explained Naseem.

Speaking to the Express Tribune on the matter, Director Crime FIA Punjab, Jahanzaib Nazeer conceded that the rate of online banking fraud was increasing day by day. “When FIA receives a cybercrime complaint, it is examined, parties are called, the investigation is done and then a case is registered. This is the reason why the rate of registration of cases against cybercrime is low.”