Digital fraud.

WHILE branchless banking services have created ease for customers through innovative, simple and seamless payments, they have increased the rate of digital crimes and frauds. On Dec 18, 2020, I received a text from 3737, the official number of a mobile wallet company, informing me that my account had been blocked. I was unable to visit the nearby franchise to sort out the issue immediately.

Two days later, I received a call from an unknown person claiming to be a representative of the said company. He informed me that my account had been blocked and I needed to follow his instructions immediately if I wanted to reactivate my account, else it would be blocked permanently and the company would not be responsible for the loss of balance.

Although I argued initially, eventually fell into his trap and followed the instructions he gave me. As a result, I was robbed of my pocket money which my family had somehow managed to send me.

After the horrible episode, I called the mobile wallet helpline and registered my complaint against the ID and the account in which my money was transferred. To my utter disappointment, I received a text from the company on Dec 27, telling me that my complaint No 809719 had...