This article is not about the cut in the cash reserve ratio. It is not about the several thousands of crores of rupees unleashed in the system. This is about a much smaller sum. In fact, it is minuscule, relatively speaking — Rs 12,500 to be precise.
On Friday, a mail from the ‘Reserve Bank of India’ asked me to remit this sum. It said, “The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) New Governor, (Dr D Subbarao), met with the Senate Tax Committee …and at the end of the meeting RBI Governor, (Dr D Subbarao) mandate the unclaimed funds to be release back to the beneficiary stating that it’s an unfair practice to withhold funds for government basket for one reason or the other for tax accumulations.”
The mail went on to say: “Therefore, we are writing to inform you that your award (85 LAKHS INR) will be released to you as it was committed. (RBI) Governor said that Beneficiary will have to pay crediting fees only. So you are therefore required to pay 12,500 INR ONLY.”
The shaky language, the reference to the Senate Tax committee, which does not exist in India, and a request for bank account details, will make it obvious for many of us that the mail is what the geeks have christened ‘phishing’ and is more popularly known as ‘the Nigerian scam’ after the country it originated from. Without going into the mechanics of the scam, it is best to press the delete button. The Reserve Bank of India will not send you any mail. Period.
But, it may not be that obvious for the real targets of this email. And, the brands — RBI and Subbarao — are too powerful to create a doubt in the minds of even the level headed. That short, weak moment is what crooks bet their life on. A couple of years before, media reports had talked about how a senior central bank official herself was fooled by an imposter, who posed like the then governor.
My friends say this mail is doing the round for months now and I got it again on Sunday morning. The persistence means either they believe I am a fool whose money needs to be parted or are confident from success elsewhere.
Also, there is a site called www.rbi.org (The official RBI site is www.rbi.org.in), which says “Welcome to RBI Financial Services. Find sponsored goods and services on Option Trading, Financial Planning, Banks, Rates and more.” God knows what this site is up to.
Are the Mint Road mandarins being possessive enough about their governor and their brand? It is easy to put up warning scrolls on the website and pass the buck to the police.
Arup Patnaik, the Mumbai Police commissioner, had this to say at his annual press conference when asked about increasing banking-related frauds in Mumbai: “Bade bade bank... RBI, SBI... sab idhar (Mumbai) hi hai na.
Phir fraud kya Chhattisgarh mein hoga?” His philosophy seems to be that as long as there are banks, there will be bank frauds, too. Does Mr Subbarao agree?
