A 51-year-old security guard has been running in circles for days trying to get a complaint registered with the police after his salary account was hacked into last Monday. His monthly salary of ₹18,500 was allegedly withdrawn from his account within 20 minutes of it being deposited.
Krishne Gowda realised what had happened when he received the regular monthly message that his salary had been credited. He asked his daughter go to an ATM and withdraw money for her college fees. However, she returned home with a slip showing that there was insufficient money in the account.
Hoping it was a mistake, he visited the K.R. Puram branch of his bank, where he was informed that the money had been transferred online to another account. “The bank staff told me to go to R.T. Nagar branch to file a complaint as the account had been generated there. At that branch, the bank staff, after much reluctance, accepted the complaint and advised me to file a police complaint too.”
But when Krishne Gowda approached the K.R. Puram police, they asked him to come back in two days. They allegedly told him that the amount was too small, and that they had more important work to focus on. “The amount may be small to them, but it’s my entire month’s salary,” he said.
With no money to pay fees for his two children, Krishne Gowda, who lives in K.R. Puram, had to pledge his gold ring. “My daughter is in her final year at law school, and my son is studying commerce in a private college,” he said.
A senior police officer said the onus is on the banks to investigate and reimburse their customers and that the police complaint is only a formality.
“The bank can file a complaint with the police against the accused with the details for legal action,” said a police officer.
The cybercrime police station situated on the Police Commissioner’s office premises takes up cases only if the cyber fraud exceeds ₹ 5 lakh. “If the amount is less, cyber fraud victims have to approach the jurisdictional police. But they have neither the expertise nor the manpower to handle the huge number of similar cases that are being reported every day,” the officer added.
