Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - Information on 203 debit/credit cards of 26 banks was initially found stolen during withdrawal of money from ATM booths in the last week.
The high-tech frauds were committed by using six ATM (Automated Teller Machine) booths in the capital Dhaka for such covert lifting of online banking money during February 6-12 period, officials said.
The central bank of Bangladesh has detected such frauds using its National Payment Switch system, they added.
Currently, 48 commercial banks out of 56 are members of the National Payment Switch Bangladesh (NPSB), introduced on December 27, 2012, aiming to facilitate efficient, safe and secure payment system.
Talking to BBN, a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) the number of such victim cardholders may increase further after completing inspection of such incidents that occurred at the ATM booths, owned by three private commercial banks (PCBs).
Different banks had already started processes of replacing such cards in line with the BB advice, the central banker added.
Meanwhile, the BB has started investigation into the complaints of withdrawal of money from clients’ accounts using duplicate cards through the ATM booths of three PCBs.
Three probe teams of the BB visited the ATM booths and headquarters of the banks concerned on Sunday to detect such digital frauds, according to the BB officials.
The banks are the United Commercial Bank Limited (UCBL), the City Bank Limited and Eastern Bank Limited (EBL).
“We expect that the probe team will submit their reports within a couple of the days,” another BB official told BBN.
BBN/SSR/AD