Rs.16 crore Cyber Fraud at Nainital Bank in Noida, Bank’s RTGS Channel Hacked

In a shocking revelation, a fraud amounting to Rs 16 crore 1 lakh 83 thousand 261 has been discovered at Nainital Bank, located in Noida Sector 62. Cybercriminals managed to hack the bank’s RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) channel and transferred the entire amount to various accounts in 84 transactions. The fraud came to light when the bank’s balance sheet was being reconciled. Subsequently, a case was registered at the cyber crime police station, and initial investigations indicate that the bank’s server was hacked to carry out this massive fraud.

Discovery of the Fraud

Nainital Bank’s IT Manager, Sumit Kumar Srivastava, filed a complaint at the cyber crime police station. According to the complaint, the fraud was detected during the regular reconciliation of the RBI settlement RTGS account on June 17. A discrepancy of Rs 3 crore 60 lakh 94 thousand 20 was found in the balance sheet. This prompted the RTGS team to investigate the transactions within the Core Banking System (CBS) and the Structured Financial Messaging System (SFMS) server.

Investigation Unveils Systemic Flaws

During the investigation, flaws were identified in both the CBS and the SFMS. Initially, the RTGS team considered it a case of delayed RTGS messages and decided to wait until the next day for further examination. On June 18, the team found that the balance sheet still did not match, despite the settlement report in SFMS aligning with the CBS of the banks. This raised suspicions of more profound issues, and some unusual activities were observed during this period.

Further Findings

A deeper investigation on June 20 revealed that 85 percent of the transactions with discrepancies were conducted in cash. This further examination confirmed that Rs 16 crore 1 lakh 83 thousand 261 had been fraudulently transferred from the bank to various accounts in 84 separate transactions.

Response and Ongoing Investigation

Inspector Vijay Kumar, the in-charge of the Cyber Crime Police Station, confirmed that a case has been registered and a dedicated team has been formed to probe this massive fraud. The police are collaborating with multiple agencies to uncover the full extent of the cybercrime and to track down the culprits involved.

Conclusion

This incident highlights the vulnerability of financial institutions to sophisticated cyber-attacks. It serves as a stark reminder of the need for robust cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive financial data and transactions.