Credit card frauds of Rs 1.23 cr detected in six months of 2007

New Delhi, Aug 24 (UNI) As many as 61 cases of frauds worth Rs 1.23 crore on account of cloning of credit cards have been reported to Reserve Bank till June-end this year.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram, in a reply to a question by Mr Mahavir Bhagora of BJP, informed Lok Sabha today the number of such fraud cases reported by banks in the country to the Central Bank in 2006 were 127 involving a total amount of Rs 2.35 crore. This, the Minister said, was not much in view of millions of credit cards in circulation in the country. However, he said the onus of protecting credit cards lies with holders who should take care while using them.

He said RBI has been sensitising banks about common fraud-prone areas, modus operandi and measures taken to prevent such frauds. The banks, he added, have been advised to set up internal control systems to combat frauds and to take pro-active fraud control and enforcement measures.

The Central Bank, the Minister said, had also sent a circular to all banks in June, last year to take preventive measures to combat cloning and skimming-related frauds.

Replying to a supplementary, Mr Chidambaram said the government has no information regarding involvement of any bank employee in any fraud.

UNI