Bank Liable for Acting on Fraudulent Email Without Verification
Final Order dated 4.5.2026 of the Adjudicating Officer & Secretary, Electronics, Information Technology and & Artificial Intelligence, Mantralaya, Mumbai, under the Information Technology Act, 2000, in Complaint Case No.01 of 2015 of Jetho Sakhrani Vs. Chief Manager, Punjab National Bank.
The complainant, Mr. Jetho Sakhrani, a senior citizen and Non-Resident Indian, maintained an FCNR (Foreign Currency Non-Resident) account with Punjab National Bank since 2005, jointly with a family member. The Complainant had not availed of internet or phone banking facilities and relied exclusively on formal written correspondence with the bank. 2. In January 2013, the complainant discovered that his email account was compromised by an unknown hacker or impersonator, who fraudulently communicated with the Respondent bank and induced it to transfer funds from the complainant’s FCNR account.
On 03 January 2013, the respondent bank acted upon the said emails and executed a SWIFT transfer of USD 92,420 to an account held in DBS Bank, Singapore, via Wells Fargo Bank (as per Exhibit-E of complainant’s documents). Shortly thereafter, between 3 January and 5 January 2013, the complainant, upon noticing suspicious activity and email communications, immediately contacted the bank and clarified that he had not issued any such instructions and that his email account had been compromised.
- Following this, on 08 January 2013, a police complaint was lodged with the Singapore Police, and the respondent also registered a complaint with cyber-crime authorities in Mumbai on 11 January, 2013 (as per Exhibit-F of complainant’s documents).
