HYDERABAD, July 28: In the first reported case of electronic banking fraud in Hyderabad, a man has been deprived of Rs400,000.

Sardar Ali Shah, who has a current account in the Civic Centre branch of UBL, had Rs1.7 million in his account on April 4. An amount of Rs400,000 was drawn from his account on four occasions -- April 4, May 3, June 2 and July 10 -- through e-transaction.

“I never got my e-banking account activated. I came to know about the fraud when I drew some money from the bank’s ATM in Karachi,” Mr Shah told Dawn after meeting officials of the bank.

The amount was drawn through e-banking involving branches in Larkana and Karachi.

He said he had not been informed by the bank about the withdrawals. “I was shocked to know that the amount had been drawn through e-banking and I was not informed by e-mail,” Mr Shah said. He alleged that the bank authorities were taking the matter lightly.

He said he had brought the fraud to the notice of the bank, but not reported to police because he was waiting for the bank to complete its inquiry.