/ 0
The Great ATM Coup
Debit Card Hacking – What happened, how it was uncovered and how big is the crisis?
CA Arihant Kumar Baid
It had come to Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) notice on September 8, 2016 that details of certain cards issued by a few banks had possibly been compromised at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) linked to the ATM switch of one of the service providers.
However, the whole issue was highlighted in public domain only on October 19, 2016 when State Bank of India, India’s largest bank, said it had blocked close to 0.6 million debit cards following a security breach at one of the payment switch provider’s system at ATMs of a private bank.
Once the matter broke in public domain it went out of bounds and jittered customers when it was reported in media that 3.2 million cards have been blocked or recalled by banks. Taking cognizance of public fervor surrounding the matter National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), the umbrella organization for all retail payment system in the country, came with a press release dated October 22, 2016 clarifying that the figure of 3.2 million cards is a proactively identified base of customers who have transacted in the set of suspected ATMs in the recent past and it does not mean that all these cards have been used for fraudulent activities. The banks have proactively intimated the aforesaid 3.2 million cardholders as a matter of precaution to either change the PIN or replace the cards so that they are not misused in the future. NPCI further stated that only 641 bank customers have complained about fraudulent activity to banks and that there is no need to panic as the problem has been identified and actions are already taken.
To read the further article please get your copy of Eastern Panorama November issue @http://www.magzter.com/IN/Hill-Publications/Eastern-Panorama/News/ or mail too contact @easternpanorama.in
