TV writer falls prey to card fraud

By Dayanand Kamath dnaindia.com

An innocuous telephone call to book tickets for a Bollywood potboiler by scriptwriter-director of popular television serials, Ajay Kartik, 51, had his credit finances being depleted in a true filmi style. Nearly a lakh worth of domestic air tickets were purchased using his State Bank of India (SBI) credit card between November 15 and 17, 2006.

In a complaint registered with the Versova police station on December 14, 2006, Kartik, scriptwriter of Hindi laugh riots like ‘Ye Jo Hai Zindagi’ and ‘Wagle Ki Duniya’ said, “About Rs 98, 235 was credited to his SBI card by unknown persons even as he remained in Mumbai ignorant about the persons flying across the country at his expense.”

Kartik, a Versova resident, told DNA, “I have used my SBI credit card for the past seven years without such an experience. The monthly statement (statement date - December1, 2006) issued by SBI bank reflected an outstanding balance of Rs 1,11, 605.29, shocking me out of my wits. I was able to discern from the details of the transactions detailed out in my statement that the purchase of air tickets made between November 15 to November 17 were not done by me.”

He suspects that the telephone conversation for the purchase of a move ticket he made using his credit card may have exposed him to criminals indulging in such frauds.

“The last transaction I made using my card was on November 12, 2006, for movie tickets worth Rs 340 at Fame Adlabs at Andheri in Mumbai. I called in my request for the tickets and was asked to enter not only the 16 digit credit card number as well as the bar code (the last three digits on the back side of the card). I had made such a booking for the first time and suspect this resulted in compromising the confidential details of my card.”

The father of an only daughter, Kartik said he first learnt of his card’s misuse when he was called by a New Delhi-based SBI executive around November 17, 2006, inquiring whether he had made any air ticket bookings using his credit card.

When he replied in the negative, the executive advised him to contact the SBI helpline and place a request for a dispute form. While he was waiting for a dispute form he was jolted by his bank’s November statement on December 6, 2006.

“On December 9, I spoke to another SBI executive, Ms Supriya and requested her to place all the transactions between November 15 to 17 under dispute. This done, I was assured that investigation from the SBI end would take at least 21 days to be completed. I also wrote to Ajay Bharati, assistant vice-president (Customer Services), SBI, New Delhi, on December 9, 2006,” Kartik said.

Police sub-inspector H K Gosavi from Versova police station said, “A complaint was lodged by Kartik on December 14, 2006. The case is under investigation.”