The disbursement of various social safety net allowances through Mobile Financial Services (MFS) like Nagad, a state-run one-stop digital banking service system, has ensured optimum transparency in the overall disbursement process alongside reducing hassles of the beneficiaries.
The allowances being disbursed through Nagad include old-age allowance, widow allowance and various financial supports to people by the government. Besides, prime minister’s gifts on various occasions to the helpless and distressed people are also being provided through digital operations.
There were middlemen in the past for disbursing allowances, but the introduction of the digital method in disbursing allowances through MFS has largely minimised the influence of those.
But the members of different organised fraud gangs are involved in realising money from the elderly people, widows and destitute people through several mobile phone applications across the country, according to media reports.
Posing as Nagad officials initially the members of the fraud gang asked people to give them pin number for taking allowance. As soon as most of old-age people and widows provide the pin number to the fraud gang, they (fraud gang members) withdraw the cash from the victims’ accounts within a moment.
Social Services Office at Dhobaura upazila of Mymensingh district distributes the old-age allowance, widow allowance and various financial supports through Nagad. But, the distressed and poor people are not getting the cash from the office as frauds using advanced technology devices are realising beneficiaries’ allowances through cloning their SIM cards.
Posing as Nagad officials initially
the members of the fraud gang
asked people to give them pin
number for taking allowance
Introducing themselves as Nagad agents and employees of social services office, they use to collect account numbers from agents and PINs applying various tricks. As the elderly people, widows and destitute failed to withdraw their allowances, they are now living in utter misery. They are unable to buy food, other groceries and essential medication.
The cyber crime unit of police will have to attain success in terms of combating crimes related to cyber crimes including mobile banking fraud across the country. They must extend support towards identification and arrest of the criminals in connection with the cyber crimes.
Besides, different law enforcement and intelligence agencies will have to work relentlessly in the field of unearthing clueless incidents, criminal identification and arresting them. Apart from this, they will also have to send necessary and demand-driven information to the adjacent district through proper channels.
Smartphone culture among especially frauds is one of the main causes of increase of social crimes. By using smartphones, they are cheating the innocent people in many ways. The authorities must work to detect criminals wherever they are engaging in any kind of criminal activity like mobile banking fraud, militancy, cyber crime, or other offences by using modern devices.
Therefore, it is urgently need to create awareness on mobile banking security among the people and enhancement of skills of those who are involved in ICT related tasks for ensuring smooth and uninterrupted service of social safety net.
