4 arrested for hacking app, duping Himachal Pradesh State Co-Operative Bank of Rs 11.55 cr

Four persons were arrested for committing cyber fraud and duping Himachal Pradesh State Co-Operative Bank from various parts of the country, including Mumbai, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, said police officials here today. The accused duped the bank of Rs 11.55 crore.

Mohit Chawla, Deputy Inspector General (DIG), State Cyber Crime, confirmed the report and said further investigation was underway. He said at present the police were interrogating two suspects from whom crucial information was being extracted. He said that the bank accounts of the accused had been frozen.

On May 11, some fraudsters hacked Himpesa app, the mobile banking application of the bank, and proceeded to dupe a customer of the Halti branch in Chamba district. The fraudsters hacked the customer’s mobile banking application and then carried out unauthorised national electronic funds transfer (NEFT) and real-time gross settlement (RTGS) transactions. The withdrawn amount was then transferred into 20 different bank accounts.

While the incident reportedly occurred on May 11 and 12, it was only on May 14 that the matter came to light after the branch officials received the transaction report from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The bank authorities immediately informed the police about the fraud. The case was then handed over to the state’s cyber cell which initiated an investigation. In the meantime, a team of Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-in) from New Delhi was called to assist in the investigation. The team deciphered how the scammers hacked the mobile application.

During the course of the investigation, police traced links to the arrested accused, who were then nabbed from various locations across the country and were brought to the state.

Meanwhile, the bank authorities assured customers that their money was safe and the amounts transferred through the transactions had been put on hold.