How did ICICI employee use elderly woman’s account to ‘pool’ & steal ₹4.58 crore from FDs?
In a shocking case of fraud, an ICICI employee has been suspended for using an elderly woman’s account as a “pool account” to steal ₹4.58 crore from fixed deposits (FDs). According to a report by NDTV, Sakshi Gupta, an employee of ICICI, linked her family members’ phone numbers to customer accounts whose FD funds she stole to invest in stocks.
In a cleverly devised system, Gupta obtained one-time passwords (OTPs) on her system, which allowed her to transfer funds to the elderly woman’s account. From there, she would illegally activate overdraft facilities on 40 accounts, using the stolen funds to invest in stocks.
The sheer scale of the fraud is staggering, with Gupta stealing a whopping ₹4.58 crore from innocent customers who had entrusted their life savings to ICICI. The case highlights the need for stricter security measures in the banking sector to prevent such heinous crimes.
According to the report, Gupta’s modus operandi was to link her family members’ phone numbers to customer accounts, which gave her access to their accounts. She would then use the OTPs to transfer funds to the elderly woman’s account, which served as the “pool account”. From there, she would activate overdraft facilities on 40 accounts, using the stolen funds to invest in stocks.
The authorities were alerted to the fraud when a customer noticed that his FD account had been drained of its funds. An investigation was launched, which revealed the shocking extent of Gupta’s fraud. The bank has since suspended Gupta and is cooperating with the authorities to recover the stolen funds.
This case is a stark reminder of the importance of robust security measures in the banking sector. Banking customers entrust their hard-earned savings to institutions like ICICI, expecting a high level of security and integrity. The fact that Gupta was able to steal such a massive amount of money highlights the need for banks to upgrade their security systems and train their employees to prevent such frauds.
Moreover, this case raises questions about the oversight mechanisms in place to prevent such frauds. How did Gupta manage to carry out such a massive fraud without being detected? Were there any red flags that were ignored or overlooked? The authorities need to conduct a thorough investigation to identify the gaps in the system and plug them to prevent such frauds in the future.
The elderly woman whose account was used as the “pool account” is also a victim of this fraud. Her account was drained of its funds, and she has lost her life savings. The authorities need to ensure that she is compensated for her losses and that her account is restored to its original balance.
In conclusion, the case of Sakshi Gupta, the ICICI employee who stole ₹4.58 crore from FDs, is a shocking reminder of the need for robust security measures in the banking sector. Banks need to upgrade their security systems and train their employees to prevent such frauds. The authorities need to conduct a thorough investigation to identify the gaps in the system and plug them to prevent such frauds in the future.
