Rent-a-bank-account scam: How it works

FINANCIAL fraudsters/cyber criminals are donning a new cap now, as regulators and law enforcers have been able to control most of their traditionally proven modes of frauds such as phishing and stealing pin numbers/passwords, among other tricks.

- BENN KOCHUVEEDAN @Mumbai

In what is called a rent-a-bank-account scam, the new kid in the fraudsters' playbook, which is to allow a third party to access and use your bank account.

Gullible people are lured with promises of a few lakhs or a few thousands of rupees or a particular percentage of commission that ranges from 1-5% of the money being transacted through your account, and then are left to deal with criminal cases and large financial claims. Some even go to the extent of making you deposit money in your account and then withdraw that money and vanish.