Credit cards :RBI Issues Clarification on Credit Cards

 PTI  22 Nov 2014

Credit cards issued by the Reserve Bank of India! Yes, that's the latest trick fraudsters are using to dupe hapless people, the central bank has found recently.

"The gullible member of the public is sent a credit card which allows withdrawal of money up to a certain limit, albeit a small sum, from a bank account," RBI stated explaining the modus operandi in its notice.

"Having gained the confidence of the victim thus, the fraudster gets him to deposit a huge sum of money in the same bank account. Once the money is deposited, the card stops working and that would also be the last time the holder of the card (victim) would hear from the fraudster," the central bank added.

The Reserve Bank was forced to issue a notice on Friday after the fraud came to light. It reiterated that India's central bank does not carry out any business with an individual, whether through savings bank account, current bank account, credit card, debit card, online banking services or receiving and holding funds in foreign exchange or any other form of banking services.

The Reserve Bank also asked public to be cautious about such fictitious offers being made in name of International Monetary Fund (IMF), income tax authorities, customs authorities or public figures like Governor, Dr. Raghuram Rajan or other senior RBI officials.

In recent years, the Reserve Bank has been target of many such scams. Last November, emails circulating in the name of Governor Rajan asked recipients for "fund release order fee charges" of Rs 9,500. Such mails also solicited other personal information like residential address, mobile phone number, bank account and PAN card details.

Earlier this year, Dr Rajan exhorted members of the public to use social media in identifying such frauds.

"Can we enlist social media in enabling the public to identify fraud and can we as regulators filter that information in careful and responsible way so that we can collect information about what is happening and react to it?" he had said at the annual Nasscom leadership conference in Mumbai.