HDFC Bank — Fraudulent transactions using debit card

Address:

Bangalore, Karnataka

This morning 28/01/2015 at 2:09 AM I was woken up by a call from telephone no.[protected] the caller said that he was from HDFC Customer Care Centre and he asked me whether I had withdrawn an amount of Rs.43, 000 a few seconds ago at an ATM. Shocked, I told him I was unaware of this transaction. He asked me to check my mobile for messages. I found the SMS's regarding the same transaction - 4 transactions of Rs. 10, 000 each and the last one for Rs.3000. The first SMS came at 02:06:18 A.M and the last one at 02:09:17 - a total of 5 transactions within 3 minutes! These transactions were made using my HDFC Debit Card details and what surprised me most was that the debit card was with me at that time! How could the person have withdrawn money without the card??? The SMSs also mentioned the address of the ATM as No. 65 Kammasandra Cross, Bangalore. The phone caller (Customer Service) then told me that he would temporarily block my debit card. He also asked me to visit the nearest ATM immediately, use the debit card, and get the slip saying 'transaction declined' as proof. He also advised us to visit our home branch at the earliest and fill the dispute form. We did as advised - filled and submitted the dispute form. Now we have been asked to wait till the investigation gets over which may take up to 3 months! We learnt from HDFC Bank that bank cards can be easily duplicated and used to make fraudulent transactions. We visited the Police Station to file an FIR. Unfortunately, the Policeman who spoke to us did not seem to take the matter seriously. He said it would be impossible to track the culprit. This is a terrible mental pressure for me. I never expected such dispute. It is purely a security lapse. Another thing I didn't expect is the police's unwillingness to help.Kindly do the needful to prevent such incidents.