Police met representatives of 40 bank branches in the city and suburbs at Lalbazar on Monday to discuss ways to tackle the growing incidence of online fraud.

Officers said the meeting's special focus was on customers falling prey to fraudsters impersonating as bank officials over the phone and giving away their debit and credit card details.

"We have advised all banks to start a 24-hour helpline to answer all queries of the customers, including the status of their cards," an officer at Lalbazar said.

The banks have also been advised to explore the possibility of delaying online transfer of money by an hour to prevent fraud. "According to the proposal, a customer initiating the transfer will get a text message saying the transaction has started. The actual transfer will happen after an hour. In case of a fraudulent transaction, the customer will have an hour to get it stopped," an officer said.

Officers in the anti-bank fraud section of the city police said there were multiple rackets that are trying to dupe people into divulging their credit/debit card numbers. The fraudsters, posing as bank officials, tell their intended victims that their cards had been blocked and ask for the numbers to get them unlocked.

"We have asked the banks to mention in advertisements that they do not call to tell customers that their cards had been blocked," said another officer.

Safety tips

♦ Do not divulge your card details
♦ If in doubt, visit the nearest ATM and check if the card is working

Police to banks

♦ Introduce 24-hour helplines for customers 
♦ Keep a one-hour gap between initiation of an online transfer and its execution