The south cyber cell unit of the Mumbai Crime Branch has apprehended seven people for purportedly withdrawing R1.63 crore from the account of a businessman from Delhi who works in Botswana, South Africa, using a counterfeit cheque.
The businessman promptly reported this fraudulent transaction to the Botswana branch of the Bank of Baroda, which informed the branch in Fort, south Mumbai. A formal complaint was subsequently filed with the cyber police.
The cyber cell was astounded to discover that the culprits not only forged the signature on the cloned cheque but also managed to obtain details of the businessman's account balance. “What's even more startling is that the withdrawal limit on the businessman's account was originally just R50 lakh, but the perpetrators somehow altered it to Rs 2 crore. Consequently, we are now suspecting the involvement of an insider in this case," said an officer.
Additionally, police have uncovered the existence of a Centralised Positive Pay System (CPPS) in accordance with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines. This requires customers to provide advance notification about cheques issued to beneficiaries. This way, the bank can process high-value cheques via the Cheque Truncation System (CTS) without the need for re-confirmation phone calls from the base branch. In this particular case, the accused initially submitted a CPPS form by forging the businessman's signature, leading the bank to skip the verification process.