TN woman loses Rs 50,000 in ‘phishing scam’, wins Rs 1.1 lakh compensation from bank

A Tamil Nadu consumer body has ordered a bank to pay Rs 1.10 lakh compensation to a customer who allegedly lost Rs 50,000 in a phishing scam, citing the bank's failure to act after receiving immediate information about the fraudulent transaction. The Thanjavur District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission directed the bank to refund Rs 50,000, pay Rs 50,000 as compensation, and pay Rs 10,000 for litigation expenses.

The commission ruled that the bank had not fulfilled its statutory and contractual duties after receiving immediate information about the fraudulent transaction, resulting in a deficiency in service as per Section 2(11) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. The complainant had received an SMS offering a reward, clicked the provided link, and provided her banking credentials, leading to Rs 50,000 being debited from her account due to an unauthorised beneficiary.

She promptly contacted the bank's customer care, lodged an online complaint, and reported the incident to the cybercrime authorities before approaching the consumer commission for relief. The bank argued that the transaction occurred only because the complainant voluntarily entered her credentials after clicking a phishing link, and claimed compliance with RBI-mandated security protocols.

However, the commission observed that the bank should have taken immediate action upon receiving the complaint and could not evade responsibility by attributing the loss solely to the customer's negligence, especially when the customer reported the issue promptly.