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In Karnataka, a woman named Sunita Ravikumar fell victim to an Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) fraud, marking the first of its kind in the state. The incident came to light when Sunita, residing in Bengaluru’s Vasanthnagar, noticed unauthorized withdrawals of ₹10,000 each on September 6 and 7 from her bank account. Disturbed by these transactions, she visited her Union Bank branch to seek clarification and subsequently filed a police complaint to report the fraud.
The High Grounds police, in response to Sunita’s complaint, registered a case under section 66D of the Information Technology (IT) Act and launched a thorough investigation. The AEPS is a technology that links a person’s Aadhaar account with their bank account, enabling transactions and withdrawals through biometric authentication. In this case, it appears that cybercriminals exploited Sunita’s biometrics to gain illicit access to her funds using AEPS technology.
Police have determined that the culprits employed Sunita’s biometric data to carry out unauthorized transactions. They also discovered that Sunita had shared her biometric information during a recent property sale in Davanagere. Notices will be issued to those involved in the property transaction to further investigate their potential role in the fraud. However, the exact origin and method of the fraudulent bank transactions remain unknown.
High Grounds police inspector H Shiva Swamy stated that they have initiated an investigation under section 66D of the IT Act 2000. Union Bank’s technical team is also conducting its own inquiry into the incident and has sought assistance from the police cyber wing to help crack the case. Authorities are determined to apprehend the culprits and bring them to justice.
This incident is reminiscent of a previous inter-state racket where cybercriminals used account holders’ fingerprints to withdraw money from various bank accounts via AEPS technology. The cybercrime wing of the Kadapa police in Andhra Pradesh busted this racket on February 9, highlighting the growing sophistication of cybercrimes involving biometric data.
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