PNB Manager Rings Cyber Alert - Exposes Fraud Racket

India's digital leap forward has brought with it a wave of cyber frauds, with financial scams becoming the distress call of the hour. Grabbing the headlines now is a Mumbai PNB branch (Kurla Takiya Ward Branch) where a watchful branch manager, Mr. Sanjay Kumar Ram Das, busted an organised cyber fraud operation. All thanks to his precise vigilance for securing the trust of millions of customers, and the bank's reputation from the crisis.

The Fishy factor:

The initial red flag for Mr. Das was the creation of 35 new bank accounts. Das became vigilant of the suspicious behavior of Amir Firoze Maniyar, the primary suspect from Karjat-Raigad, who repeatedly visited the branch with different people to open accounts. This suspicious pattern prompted Das to consult the same with his colleague Raviraj Gaikwad, leading to personal probing that eventually confirmed a suspected financial fraud.

In the process of personal inquiry, both Das and Raviraj discovered an uptick in fraud-related grievances from PNB HQ concerning accounts at the Kurla branch. This single pattern was enough to conclude the suspense and conduct further investigation, this time face-to-face.

Next episode:

Maniyar’s next visit to the Kurla PNB branch on 19th November, 2024, took a dramatic turn. Upon being confronted by the branch manager, Maniyar claimed that he ran an export business and the active accounts belonged to his relatives. Unconvinced, Das asked Maniyar to provide details of the account holders and cross-checked the same with the details provided by the PNB headquarters.

The Rock Bottom:

As the investigation progressed, Das discovered a matched financial fraud case filed in Bangalore, disclosing the suspect’s name as Amir Shaikh, further implicating Maniyar. The probe revealed that those 35 active accounts opened by Maniyar had VISA cards and showed records of suspicious transactions and frequent ATM cash withdrawals from various international locations.?

On sensing foul play, Das lodged an official complaint at the Kurla Police Station, prompting the Senior inspector to immediately launch a probe into the matter.?

Stay Vigilant?

While the investigation is in progress, it is crucial for every authorised account holder of every bank to stay vigilant in securing their hard-earned money from malicious clutches. Awareness is the key.

Stay tuned to DataSpace Academy and keep your cybersecurity awareness on point.