The State police’s Hi-Tech Crime Enquiry Cell has warned the public about a fake e-mail on the lines of the Nigerian letter scam now purportedly addressed from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The fake e-mail, bearing the symbol of the RBI, asks customers to reply to the mail on rbiforeignexchangedelhi @mit.tc furnishing details such as address, annual income, mobile number, account name, bank name, and IFSC code so as to receive an unclaimed amount of Rs.4,76,37,070. It mentions that RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan mandated all unclaimed funds to be released back to the beneficiary as “it is unfair practice to withhold funds for government basket for one reason or the other for tax accumulations.”
The docx letter format, purportedly signed by the Deputy General Manager, Foreign Remittance Department, goes on to say that “therefore we are writing this e-mail to inform you that 4,76,37,070, INR) will be released to you in your name as it was committed for RBI Governor that beneficiary will have to pay crediting fees only to credit winning amount in your account immediately making a “decline” for 2 working days after receiving this mail.”
Fictitious agent
Incidentally, it also refers to a fictitious Dr. Brown Book who has been assigned as foreign agent to monitor the transfer of funds. Some mails are from the address RBI
N. Vinayakumar Nair, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Hi-Tech Crime Enquiry Cell, told The Hindu on Wednesday that the scam mail was the latest in the phishing trends targeted at professionals, salaried and middle-class people, and Net bankers.
“Earlier, the fraud mails contained the picture of the former RBI Governor D. Subbarao. Now, it is Mr. Rajan’s picture on the fake letterhead. We have received numerous complaints. A case will be taken up if a complainant has lost money. Normally, Keralities who have a penchant for freebies and discounts fall prey to such swindling,” Mr. Nair said.
RBI’s warnings
The RBI has on several occasions warned against e-mails which can be sent from a proxy IP address or spoofed e-mail addresses. One of them was a new online security protection called Netsecured to “reduce fraud and theft in various banking system and to enable all customers in all Indian Banks to get protected and secured.”
