Photo : Messenger
Fraudsters are constantly applying new tricks to trap innocent victims and successfully steal money from customers' accounts on bKash, a popular mobile financial service (MFS) in the country.
In this scheme, fraudsters first gather customers' account numbers by visiting bKash points established in cities as well as villages across the country. They then call customers, pretending to be customer care agents of bKash, and use various tricks to steal substantial sums of money.
The swindlers often initiate their deception by referencing an excess money transfer complaint to lure customers. They pose as customer care representatives from the head office and claim, "Your account has been temporarily closed. To reactivate it, you need to cooperate, including providing your PIN number." Using this deceitful tactic, fraudsters manage to siphon off large amounts of Taka from bKash customers' accounts.
Detectives have identified the hideouts of these fraudsters, primarily in the Faridpur, Madaripur, and Magura areas. Roughly 90 percent of them are located in Faridpur. Following the recent apprehension of six members from one such gang, the detective police disclosed that nearly everyone in a particular village in Madhukhali Upazila of Faridpur is involved in bKash fraud.
Mashiur Rahman, Deputy Police Commissioner (Detective Branch), DMP, told The Daily Messenger, “Fraudsters exploit a feature in iPhones to share information, gaining access to customers' accounts using their PIN numbers. They engage in discussions related to addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division before making off with all the money. Weak security measures in bKash and online banking make it easier for fraudsters to set up such traps. They then utilise the ill-gotten gains to make purchases from online stores. This situation necessitates urgent efforts from law enforcement agencies to apprehend them.”
Mashiur Rahman further revealed that 90 percent of these bKash fraudsters originate from Faridpur, with the remaining portion hailing from Madaripur and Magura. It's crucial for the public to be aware that bKash or online banking customer care representatives will never request a PIN or password.
“Therefore, the police strongly advise against sharing such information,” he said.
New tactics employed by fraudsters:
Abul Kalam Azad, Additional Superintendent of Police at the Criminal Investigation Department, explained various tactics used by bKash-oriented fraudsters.
Abul Kalam Azad informed The Daily Messenger that, in addition to traditional tricks such as requesting refunds for accidental money transfers to the wrong number or asking for OTP numbers, fraudsters have incorporated new and innovative techniques. One such technique involves sending a vaccination registration SMS. In this scenario, the fraudster claims to have registered for a vaccine but states that the code was mistakenly sent to the victim's phone, requesting them to provide the code. Victims are manipulated into complying due to the supposed humanitarian aspect, ultimately falling prey to the scam.
Kamrul Ahsan, Additional Superintendent in the Criminal Investigation Department's organised crime unit, told The Daily Messenger, "Over the past nine months, a team was dispatched from Dhaka to Faridpur, leading to the arrest of about 50 fraudsters."
"I saw a post on Facebook that said to contact this number for a stipend. I then checked the location and found it was in Bhanga, Faridpur," he said.
He further added, "Fraudsters target bKash agents as well as ordinary people. They claim over the phone that you will receive a two-and-a-half percent commission, but the commission from our office has been increased to five percent. They instruct the agents on what to do to activate it. If agents do as the fraudsters say, the money is transferred to another number. Later, the fraudsters transfer the money to multiple accounts."
How fraudsters obtain customer information:
Kamrul Ahsan explained that fraudsters often exploit agent points that maintain ledgers with bKash transaction numbers. They secretly capture images of these accounts, disguising their actions as withdrawals or bKash money transfers. Sometimes, bKash agents and officers are also complicit in these fraudulent activities.
Kamrul Ahsan also mentioned that different organisations collect consumer data, which they then sell to third parties. Fraudsters acquire data from these organisations and also verify the existence of a bKash account associated with a customer's phone number through various enticing methods.
Khandaker Al Moin, director of RAB's legal and media wing, told The Daily Messenger, "We have arrested many bKash fraudsters. In this case, there is no alternative to customer awareness. It is possible to avoid it only if you are aware."
When asked about incidents involving bKash frauds, Shamsuddin Haider Dalim, Head of Corporate Communications at bKash, told The Daily Messenger, "Fraudsters employ various tactics to carry out their scams, with PIN numbers and OTPs being their primary targets. When you receive a code on your phone, do not share it with anyone. We always stress the importance of awareness. If someone asks for your code number, consider them a scammer, as legitimate financial institutions will never request such information."
Messenger/Sajib
