Sunitha, aged 54 years had lost her husband just last month. She gets a call from a lady, identifying herself as a officer from Employee Provident Fund(EPF) department and informs that her husband’s provident fund is now worth 11 crore and offers her help in redemption of the same. She wins Sunitha’s trust by quoting correctly her Husband Name, Permanent Account Number(PAN) and the company he worked for. The caller then asks Sunitha to pay advance tax and GST so that she can process her redemption and convinces Sunitha to pay 4 crore rupees in total to various bank accounts over time. When Sunitha finally said I dont have any more money, the caller stopped all communication, then Sunitha realized she was a victim of PAN fraud, Impersonation and Social Engineering cybercrime.
In another recently reported incident, a Bangalore IT professional working for Infosys was extorted of Rs 3.7 crore by cybercriminals identifying themselves as from CBI and Mumbai police. The story narrated here was that a bank account opened using his PAN had been used for money laundering and if he does not transfer the amount, he will be arrested under financial terrorism non-bailable sections and taken to Mumbai jail. Under duress he transferred Rs 3.7 crores over few days to multiple accounts suggested by the cybercriminals. Here again he was a victim of PAN fraud, Impersonation and Social Engineering cybercrime.
There are two main issues with this fraud, one being issuance of PAN card printouts or photocopies or scanned copies without proper care or necessity and second being the negligence, irresponsibility, laziness, indifference and ignorance of the verification process by the officers/agents while opening bank account, its possible that there can be a inside involvement in the fraud. I had written in detail about various PAN cyber frauds, Impersonation and Social Engineering cybercrime, check it out for how they are carried out.
Precautions that can be taken to prevent such PAN frauds :-
- Do not share your PAN card printouts or photocopies or scanned copies or PAN Number with unless its absolutely needed, then ensure that you mention the date and reason for issuing.
- Instead of PAN use driver’s license or voter ID for verification of your name or age.
- Enter the PAN number only if the website you are entering is secure (URL starting with https or with a lock stamp).
- Check your CIBIL score and report, Form 26A and AIS report on income tax website regularly for any unexpected transactions.
- Do not click on the link in the SMS or WhatsApp message you receive to update PAN and never call the number mentioned there. Use only an approved agency or website to update PAN your address or phone number.
- If you get such a call, obtain FIR number and look up for the details in https://ksp.karnataka.gov.in/firsearch/en website and check with your lawyer or nearby police station before action on it.
- If you get a call from bank or EPF or any government agency, you cross verify online or calling up their customer support number before acting on it.
If you are a victim of such fraud :-
Immediately call 1930 cyber helpline or file a complaint at cybercrime.gov.in website or nearby police station. Also you can file a complaint on the official website of the Income Tax Department (steps given below). File a complaint against the bank or government or other organizations that have allowed the fraud without proper verification and take legal action against them.
Steps to Report Misuse of PAN Card with Income Tax Department :-
The Income-tax department under the Indian Government has developed an electronic website to file PAN Grievances through Aayakar Sampark Kendra (ASK). Therefore, you can follow the steps discussed below to report a misuse after you spot one in your PAN.
- Step 1: Visit the official website of TIN NSDL(https://www.protean-tinpan.com/customerfeedback.html).
- Step 2: Click on “Complaints” radio button.
- Step 3: Fill this form with your accurate details, describing the nature of the complaint. Enter the Captcha code and click on “Submit”.
Legal remedies available to the victim :-
You can register a criminal case at your nearest cyber or children specific or regular police station, under the following legal sections or the Act as per sections prescribed by the police based on your case :
- section 419 (punishment for cheating by impersonation) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), section 463/464/465 (make a false document or false electronic record , forgery), and 499/500 (Defamation) of Indian Penal Code(IPC)
- section 43 (Penalty and compensation for damage to computer, computer system, etc), section 66 (punishment for computer related offences – a person committing data theft, transmitting virus into a system, destroying data, hacking, or denying access to the computer or network to an authorized person is imprisoned for a maximum of 3 years or a fine of 5 lakh rupees or both), section 66C(which prescribes penalties for identity theft and states that anyone who fraudulently or dishonestly uses a person’s identity information will be subject to imprisonment up to 3 years and a fine of up to 3 lakh rupees) and Section 66D (punishment for fraud by impersonation using computer resources) under of the Information Technology Act(IT) Act 2000.