DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran loses money to online fraudsters; seeks report from Nirmala Sitharaman

During the first call, the fraudsters sought their details, such as the bank account number, under the guise of verification. However, Priya did not provide any of the information they sought and disconnected the call.

The fraudsters called her again and sought further details, stating that they needed it immediately or the account would be frozen. Sensing foul play, Priya disconnected the call again.

Subsequently, she received a call for the third time from the same person, posing as an employee of the bank. Priya refused to provide any information and told the fraudsters to contact her husband, who is an MP.

Meanwhile, Maran, who was in India, received an SMS stating that ₹99,999 was debited from the account. Shocked, Maran tried contacting Axis Bank authorities.

Meanwhile, Priya informed Maran about the dubious calls she received from the fraudsters.

Maran immediately launched a complaint with the Chennai City Police Cyber Crime Wing.

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Maran on social media

Sharing the details on X, Maran said that ₹99,999 was “stolen” from his Axis Bank personal savings account through a net banking transfer via “IDFC First Bank-Billdesk”.

OUR PRIVATE DATA IS NOT SAFE IN #DigitalIndia!

On Sunday, ₹99,999 was stolen from my @AxisBank personal savings account through a net banking transfer via @IDFCFIRSTBank–@BillDesk, bypassing all normal safety protocols.

An OTP, the standard protocol for such transactions, was…

— Dayanidhi Maran தயாநிதி மாறன் (@Dayanidhi_Maran) October 10, 2023

The DMK MP, while questioning the safety of private data in “Digital India”, demanded that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman release a white paper on security measures taken to protect private data.

In his tweet, Maran said, “On Sunday, ₹99,999 was stolen from my @AxisBank personal savings account through a net banking transfer via @IDFCFIRSTBank-@BillDesk, bypassing all normal safety protocols.”

Elaborating on the incident and how he was cheated by fraudsters, the three-time DMK MP said, “An OTP, the standard protocol for such transactions, was neither generated nor received on my linked mobile number. Instead, a call was made to the account’s joint holder — my wife’s number — and the fraudsters had the gall to ask if the transaction had taken place. They pretended to be from the bank but had @cbic_india on their display picture. This confirmed my suspicions and I immediately proceeded to block all activities on my account.”

The DMK leader said he was puzzled by how the fraudsters accessed his personal information and breached security protocols “with such ease”.

“This wasn’t a phishing attack nor were any sensitive details divulged,” he clarified.

He also said that Axis Bank was clueless as to how the attack had happened, and nor could they give an explanation for why the OTP was not required from his number for the transaction to take place.

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Questioning data safety

Further questioning the data safety of the public, Maran asked, ”If this can happen to someone who is aware of tech and cautious with private data, what about first-time digital users and senior citizens? Is anyone’s data safe?”

Stating that in his capacity as an MP he had sought the help of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the past on behalf of cybercrime victims, who were subjected to such online bank frauds, the former Union minister said, “Today, as a victim, I demand accountability and justice.”

Citing a report in Hindustan Times, which says that financial frauds accounted for 75 percent of cybercrimes in India from January 2020 to June 2023, Maran said, “Reports of sensitive Aadhaar data being sold emerged as early as 2018. Banks’ data breaches and ransomware attacks have become regular news.”

“For India to excel in the digital world or to emerge as a FinTech hub, we need robust security and government action. What action is the government taking to protect our private data? Will the Finance Minister release a white paper on this? We need answers and we need them now,” the DMK MP said.