Despite increasing public fears about the safety of bank accounts in the wake of the recent serial ATM fraud in the capital city, many banks in the district are yet to carry out a voluntary inspection of the functioning of their ATMs.
Only managers of the State Bank of India have received specific instructions from their head office to have a thorough look at the issue and address the concerns with regard to secure ATM operations. The State-Level Bankers Committee and its district-level units are yet to come out with any fresh guidelines.
Officials attached to the District-Level Bankers Committee say the bankers are very much aware of the instructions already issued by the Reserve Bank of India with regard to ATM security and various measures to be taken to ward off the fraudsters.
“Following the earlier incidents of ATM frauds, we had circulated specific instructions from the Police Department to strengthen security,” they said.
Managers of leading banks claimed that close monitoring of Closed Circuit Television Cameras installed at ATM kiosks gave them confidence to keep off the fraudsters. Some of the banks have high-end ATMs where the fixing of skimmers or any other electronic devises is impossible.
Anti-skimming solutions
“We have been using anti-skimming solutions in all our ATMs to ensure total security. As an additional security arrangement, the cash depositors have been asked to try different types of anti-skimmers at the ATMs,” said manager of a new-generation bank here.
According to him, the main challenge now is the increasing incidence of online frauds like phishing. The manager of a public sector bank in the city said the real-time monitoring of CCTV visuals was high priority now and all arrangements were in place to do this without any flaw.
“We have even advanced alert systems linked to mobile phones and other safety solutions where the security personnel can immediately swing into action in case of emergency situation.” No major complaints had been reported from any parts of the district to prove that the existing arrangements are inadequate, the manager added.
