Monday, February 10th, 2025

Online Fraud: Money from online fraud will never reach the robber’s account! Know the government’s new trick

New Delhi/Mumbai: Be it you or I, we are human beings and mistakes keep happening. Sometimes we have to bear the brunt of carelessness and sometimes we become victims of viciousness and get robbed. But what happens when the money looted from us does not reach the account of the fraudsters? The government wants to move forward on this strategy. The government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are considering various measures to deal with online fraud. An important measure is ‘cooling off facility’. Under this, the money coming into a bank account can be stopped for some time. This will be done especially in cases where fraud money is moved through multiple accounts (mule accounts). It is often difficult to get such money back. Such a facility already exists in some countries.

Know what is Mule Account

The government and agencies are seeing how effective this method will be. Besides, it is also being ensured that common customers do not face any problem. Mule accounts are bank accounts that criminals use to transfer their fraud funds. Bankers say that in case of digital payment fraud, it is very important to report it immediately after the ‘golden hour’ i.e. the fraud. If you report the fraud on Cyber ​​Crime Helpline (1930) within an hour of the fraud, your money can be saved before it falls into the hands of scammers.

A year ago the issue of mule accounts was probably a matter of concern to mid-level management. Today it is at the top of the agenda of every bank CEO.

Piyush Dalmia, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company

Know the purpose of cooling off period

The purpose of the proposed ‘cooling off period’ is also to ensure that the fraud money is not transferred immediately. Home Ministry, Finance Ministry, Information Technology (IT) Ministry and RBI are working together on many options to deal with fraud. Banks are also taking strict steps to deal with mule accounts. These mule accounts are what fuel online fraud, which occurs almost every two minutes.

Banks have no role in most online frauds like ‘digital arrest’ or phishing. But, mule accounts are used to withdraw fraudulent money. The Home Ministry, through its Indian Cyber ​​Crime Coordination Center (I4C), has advised people against selling or renting out their bank accounts. Also, banks have been asked to tighten KYC rules so that accounts cannot be opened without identity verification. Subsequently, banks have started creating central cells to deal with mule accounts. Technology is also being used to identify such accounts.

Discussion on mule accounts in every bank

Banks are also closing those accounts in which there has been no transaction for two years. This is being done to prevent their misuse. Piyush Dalmia, senior partner, McKinsey & Company, says, ‘A year ago the issue of mule accounts was probably a matter of concern for mid-level management. Today it is at the top of the agenda of every bank CEO. There are two types of Mule accounts. In some cases, account holders knowingly engage in this, making them complicit in the fraud. In other cases they are unwitting victims. They don’t even know that their accounts are being misused.

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