Petrol bunks across state face account freezes over fake payment complaints
Chennai: Petrol bunks across Tamil Nadu are facing a fresh crisis. Customers who pay by card or UPI are filing false complaints with banks, claiming they did not make the transaction. Without verifying the claims, banks are forwarding cases to cybercrime police, who freeze the dealers' current accounts used for daily operations.
Dealers said it typically takes seven to ten days and multiple rounds to banks and police stations to get accounts unfrozen. As these accounts are the sole operational link for most petrol bunks, freezing them disrupts procurement, supply chains, and daily operations.
In some cases, dealers said their accounts are blocked even when flagged customers simply use their POS machines. "These are third or fourth-level transactions, yet our accounts are frozen without fault," said B Gowtham, a dealer from south Tamil Nadu.
Pointing to the larger concern, they said they already absorb card transaction charges, leaving thin margins on digital sales. "Since demonetisation, we were asked to promote digital payments. Today, almost every second transaction is digital. But if cybercrime police freeze accounts without proper checks, we will be forced to move customers to cash, which is inconvenient for them," said Gowtham.
The
Tamil Nadu Petroleum Dealers Association
(TNPDA) said that such cases have become rampant in Pune and Nagpur, where fuel movement averages 600 kilolitres/month far above the national average of 140 kilolitres. Maharashtra dealers there have already announced strikes. In Tamil Nadu, two to three cases are reported every month, said KP Murali, president of TNPDA. "We are planning to raise this with the Union home ministry to push for a Standard Operating Procedure, which is missing today," he said.
Responding to the concerns, a senior Tamil Nadu cybercrime police officer said early freezing is necessary to recover money. "For UPI, the recovery window is just one to two hours; for card transactions, two to four hours. Every second matters," he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
ID please? MeitY verifies identity verification startups
The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has stepped up scrutiny of startups such as Surepass , Digitap, Zoop and Signzy for possible unauthorised access to Aadhaar, permanent account number (PAN) and goods and services tax (GST) databases, three people in the know told ET. The government is checking if these firms, which offer identity verification services, are using authorised service providers or bypassing protocols. MeitY has restricted access to some of these companies' websites through certain telecom networks. 'Representatives of some of these firms are trying to meet government officials over the next few days to understand the concerns and what they can do to address the issue,' said one of the people cited. The government allows regulated entities like banks to use Aadhaar under licence to authenticate their own customers. Authorities are trying to find out what routes are being used by these startups to offer such verification services. These identity verification platforms work with financial services firms, consumer-facing startups and other entities that need to authenticate businesses or consumers they work with. Live Events Typically, they use these services to check for fraud and to underwrite these clients. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories ETtech 'We understand that access to the Zoop website is currently restricted on certain networks,' Zoop founder Ritesh Kothari told ET. 'This appears to be part of a regular regulatory clarification process initiated by MeitY involving multiple companies offering ID verification solutions.' Kothari said Zoop has reached out to the relevant department to discuss the matter to understand the government's concerns. 'At this stage, we are not aware of the scope of or reason behind this action,' he said. 'Given this, we are unable to speculate on any causes for this takedown.' Meity, Signzy, Surepass and Digitap didn't respond to queries. 'The government is becoming extremely careful about who is accessing citizen and business databases and how they are doing it. This move is part of that larger endeavour,' said one of the people cited. ET reported on October 24 that the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has been cracking down on all forms of unauthorised access to the Unified Payments Interface ( UPI ) database by various startups that were using this to enrich customer data. NPCI sent a letter in October last year asking all banks and fintechs to refrain from any unauthorised usage of the UPI database beyond payments, balance enquiries and settlement confirmations. The second person quoted above said that some of the identity verification startups usually obtain customer application forms from clients and scrape multiple databases to verify them. This data is typically available online, some through open website links and application programming interfaces (APIs) or even through dark web databases, he said. The service is used to predict fraud, verify customers and authenticate users. 'While legal and authorised access to any database is not a problem, the authorities are concerned about any unauthorised access,' he added. Experts said startups, some funded and some bootstrapped, have proliferated across the ecosystem and are scraping various government databases to offer these services. This could be unauthorised in many cases, they said. Companies such as Idfy, DigiO, Signzy and Datasutram are the most popular identity verification platforms, offering services such as customer verification and fraud detection. Only certain platforms have faced penal action from the authorities, ET has learnt. Signzy says it offers PAN, Aadhaar, driving licence and GST authentication. Digitap offers backend verification of government documents and Surepass provides Aadhaar verification APIs. The government is checking what licences are being used by these firms to offer these services. While Signzy, founded in 2015, is backed by major venture funds such as Gaja Capital, Stellaris Venture Partners and Kalaari Capital, data from Tracxn shows that Pune-based Zoop was founded in 2016 and has only raised funding from a bunch of angel investors. Digitap is an unfunded startup based in Bengaluru and Surepass is a 2019-founded startup based in New Delhi and is yet to raise funds. The third person cited above said that these trends indicate that India needs a stringent data security law urgently. 'Many technology-first platforms have accessed these databases through some means,' he said. 'They are also hoarding data and sometimes using that to offer certain services. The DPDP (Digital Personal Data Protection) Act is time-critical in this matter.'
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Faster e-challans & fine payment over traffic violations in offing
Ranchi: The traffic department is all set to expedite the process of issuing challans and making payments faster in connection with traffic violations in Ranchi city. Moreover, a string of other measures are in the offing and will be implemented soon to smoothen traffic movement. While reviewing the traffic system of Ranchi recently, Inspector General (IG) Manoj Koushik instructed that challans issued to traffic violators should not take too long to be issued and must be dealt with on the next day of the rule violation itself. In view of the large number of traffic violations happening every day, he also directed that the unit vetting the e-challans generated out of CCTVs should be activated. He said that the assessment of the number of personnel required for the task should be determined at the earliest. IG Koushik also discussed methods to simplify fine payment with UPI being considered one of the modes. It may be stated that there are around 600 CCTVs across Ranchi city which are used to detect vehicles violating traffic norms and also generate e-challans. While talking on the issue, the IG further said, "The aim of the measure is not to punish people but to deter them from violating traffic norms in the future. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Mix 4 Kitchen Ingredients, Wake Up Thinner Every Morning Health Now Undo I have also instructed the traffic department to carry out at least one traffic awareness programme every week. In Indore, there is a dedicated team which usually carries out two awareness programmes everyday." He added the repeat offenders would, however, face serious consequences. The IG also asked police to avoid manual traffic management as far as possible. He stated that traffic lights at inappropriate places should also be relocated. A plan is under way to improve road engineering of various pathways in the city, he added. Following the IG's instructions, traffic SP Kailash Karmali held a meeting with officials and representatives of the auto rickshaw association on road safety and security of women in passenger vehicles. He also stated auto rickshaw drivers should have a dress code and name plates. He added that traffic police would be stationed at bus stands, railway stations and airport from 7 pm to 11 pm.
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
Somanna urges Karnataka govt to reconsider dropped railways projects
Mysuru: Union minister of state for railways V Somanna, on Sunday urged Karnataka govt to reconsider its decision to drop the Chamarajanagar–Hejjala and Mysuru–Kushalnagar railway projects. Following a review meeting with Mysuru division railway officials, Somanna said he wrote to the state urging it to take up both projects and plans to personally follow up with chief minister Siddaramaiah in the next 15 days. "State govt earlier returned both proposals citing an inability to implement them," the Union minister said. "I've since written requesting a reconsideration. I also spoke to Chamarajanagar MP Sunil Bose and Mysuru district minister HC Mahadevappa, but there has been no progress so far. I will increase pressure and ensure that these projects are approved at the earliest. Developmental initiatives should go beyond party lines. " On electrification progress between Mysuru and Chamarajanagar, he said only a 1.2km stretch near Kadakola, close to Mysuru airport, remains incomplete. He said this is due to "technical challenges". "We are working on obtaining an online NOC, and once cleared, that final stretch will be completed soon. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Capital Gains Exemptions for Seniors SmartAsset Learn More Undo Across the country, 99% of electrification is complete, and we aim to reach 100% by the end of the year," he said. Additionally, Somanna announced that Union govt sanctioned Rs 200 crore for the Yadgir Railway coach factory expansion, where currently only 50 employees are working. Somanna emphasised the importance of timely project execution, high-quality construction standards, and enhanced passenger amenities. He expressed satisfaction with the current pace of work and reaffirmed the central govt's commitment to improving regional connectivity. He praised chief minister Siddaramaiah for his cooperation in land acquisition matters, which enabled significant railway infrastructure progress in Karnataka. "Karnataka is seeing the implementation of 13 major projects worth around Rs 39,000 crore, including the Rayadurga–Tumakuru, Tumakuru–Davanagere, Kuduchi–Gadag, and Gadag–Wadi lines," he said. "Under the Viksit Bharat initiative, a greenfield corridor is being planned in Tumakuru, which will connect major factories directly via rail. This move is expected to drastically reduce transportation costs—from Rs 13/km by road to Rs 6–7/km by rail."
