MORE and more people are becoming victims of online banking frauds. Banks regularly warn customers about fraudulent schemes, but when scam messages appear to come from a bank’s official number, victims are far more likely to trust them.

This suggests that fraudsters may have compromised the bank’s official numbers, or that there may be collaboration or involvement by insiders within the banking system. Since banks monitor transactions constantly, they can quickly identify suspicious activity. For example, when a transaction originates from an unusual location, involves unfamiliar or unknown companies, or requests an unusually large amount, bank officials should take additional steps before allowing payment authorisation to proceed.

Whenever a bank detects an unusual transaction, it should promptly call the customer to confirm the recipient and the exact amount, ideally while the payment authorisation is still pending or is under review. A proactive level of vigilance and timely involvement of commercial banks can save huge losses for innocent people.

Air-Cdre (retd) M. Khalid Kamal
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2026