‘Delay by banks to unfreeze cybercrime victim’s accounts a serious concern’

A 30-year-old private firm employee who was a victim of a cybercrime — a fraudulent transaction in her account — has been running from pillar to post to unfreeze her bank account for the last three months. The victim has suffered several financial difficulties due to the delay by the private bank.

She was among the many who participated and shared the tale of woes at the Cybercrime Victims’ Day organised by the Southeast Division police at HSR Layout on Saturday. This was an initiative to provide support for cybercrime victims, redress their issues and provide updates about their cases. The event also served as a platform to educate them, counsel them, and discuss preventive measures with support and solace, said C.K. Baba, DCP, Southeast Division. Around 300 people, a majority of them women, attended the meeting on Saturday.

One of the common complaints that emerged was that despite court orders their accounts, which were targeted by cybercriminals, were not unfrozen by private banks for many months. This has burdened them further, as they have already lost money to cybercrimes. Banks refuse to unfreeze the accounts despite court orders, citing a lack of clear guidelines from their respective headquarters, a senior police officer said. 

Another officer, with considerable experience in handling cybercrime cases, said that non-cooperation of private banks was one of the major hurdles facing cybercrime probes in the State. It may be recalled that city Police Commissioner B. Dayananda held a meeting with bank representatives and nodal officers to raise these issues on October 11.

As per the rules, banks, as soon as a cybercrime is reported, freeze all related accounts, including primary, secondary and tertiary accounts. This will initially help the victim recover the amount transferred online, but unfreezing their accounts later remains a problem.