Dhaka, Bangladesh – A sophisticated fraud ring has allegedly siphoned off money from the credit cards of numerous customers of the multinational Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) in Bangladesh. The perpetrators utilized a novel method to transfer funds from customers’ accounts to multiple Mobile Financial Service (MFS) accounts, despite the customers not initiating the transactions.
According to sources involved in the banking sector, the fraud occurred during the last week of August, affecting 54 SCB customers. The criminal group managed to divert a total of BDT 27 lakh (approx. $24,500) from these accounts. Each affected customer reportedly lost BDT 50,000. The funds were allegedly transferred to MFS accounts such as bKash and Nagad before being immediately withdrawn in cash by the fraudsters, whose MFS numbers have since been deactivated. This suggests the involvement of a highly skilled criminal network, according to a source at the Bangladesh Bank.
Following the incident, SCB temporarily suspended the feature allowing money transfer from its cards to bKash and Nagad MFS accounts. The bank informed customers via a text message that the ‘Add Money’ option on MFS apps has been temporarily disabled for secure transactions.
SCB authorities have reported the matter to the Bangladesh Bank and law enforcement agencies after receiving complaints from customers. The Bangladesh Bank has already initiated an investigation into the matter.
The incident gained public attention earlier this month after several affected customers shared their experiences on social media. They reported that BDT 50,000 was debited from their accounts within seconds of receiving a One-Time Password (OTP) on their phones, even though no user shared the OTP or used any suspicious websites or applications.
Hasin Haider, an affected teacher, wrote in a Facebook post, “Suddenly, BDT 50,000 was debited from my Standard Chartered Visa card to a bKash account. Although I received the OTP on my phone, I did not share it with anyone. Still, the money was transferred within 20 seconds. Yet, the bank says that since the transaction was completed with an OTP, it is the customer’s liability.”
He further added, “BDT 50,000 was debited from my card at 7:43 PM on August 26. I did not share the OTP with anyone. I believe this is a bank security issue.” Another customer, Sadia Sharmin Bristi, posted on Facebook that this was her first experience with such fraud, despite using her card for over seven years, and BDT 50,000 was transferred from her account as well.
SCB officials, when contacted about the matter, stated that the bank’s local and global technology teams had reviewed the security of the bank’s technology department after receiving multiple complaints and found no internal faults. They suggested that since the card funds were stolen through the ‘Add Money’ option on bKash and Nagad apps, the MFS providers must clarify the issue.
Lutful Habib, Managing Director of SCB Bangladesh, confirmed the situation to the media: “So far, 54 customers have lodged complaints with us. We have informed the law enforcement agencies and the Bangladesh Bank. They are investigating the matter. Their investigation will surely reveal the true picture, and the culprits will be identified and brought to justice.”
Mr. Habib reiterated that no vulnerability was found in the bank’s technology division. “The incident occurred through the ‘Add Money’ option of the MFS. For this reason, we have temporarily suspended money transfers from our bank’s cards to MFS apps. A decision on re-enabling this feature will be made after the actual facts emerge,” he concluded.
