Unusual transaction from your bank account? Here’s what you can do
New Delhi: There are a lot of ways in which fraudsters and scammers can steal your financial data which makes it easy for them to steal your money. With net banking and digital wallets, this has become even more common. In case you get a notification of a transaction which you haven’t done, then chances are it is a banking fraud and someone just used your details to rob you.
In order to curb such incidents, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a notification last year. The notification stated that revised directions are being issued to curb the surge in customer grievances relating to unauthorised transactions resulting in money debited to their accounts/ cards. The criteria for determining the customer liability in these circumstances were reviewed.
Here’s what the notification stated about unusual transactions
1. A customer is entitled to zero liability if there is contributory fraud/ negligence/ deficiency on the part of the bank, irrespective of whether or not the transaction is reported by the customer.
2. In case of a third party breach where the deficiency lies neither with the bank nor with the customer but lies elsewhere in the system, and the customer notifies the bank within three working days of receiving the communication from the bank regarding the unauthorised transaction, the customer has no liability.
3. In cases where the loss is due to negligence by a customer, such as where they have shared the payment credentials, the customer will bear the entire loss until they report the unauthorised transaction to the bank. Any loss occurring after the reporting of the unauthorised transaction shall be borne by the bank.
4. In cases where the responsibility for the unauthorised electronic banking transaction lies neither with the bank nor with the customer, but lies elsewhere in the system and when there is a delay (of four to seven working days after receiving the communication from the bank) on the part of the customer in notifying the bank of such a transaction, the per transaction liability of the customer shall be limited to the transaction value.
In case you are notified of an unauthorised transaction from your account, here’s what you shall do to recover the money.
Make sure to inform the bank within three days of the unauthorized transaction to get your money back. Also, make sure to change all your passwords and other security details to block any unauthorized transaction in the future from the same account. As soon as you notify the bank block your credit and debit card till the issue is resolved. In order to prevent such banking frauds, keep your financial details private online as well as offline, be wary of fake phishing emails and calls which ask for your card and bank account details.
What happens once you notify the bank?
Once the customer notifies the bank, the bank has to credit the amount involved in the unauthorised electronic transaction to the customer’s account within 10 working days from the date of such notification by the customer. Banks may also at their discretion decide to waive off any customer liability in case of unauthorised electronic banking transactions even in cases of customer negligence.
