50 IAF officers fall victim to credit card fraud

Investigators are probing the role of some insiders and are planning to grill SBI officials and also IAF personnel.

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More than 50 officials, including senior officials, of the Indian Air Force have become the latest victims of credit card fraud.

The Air Force has registered an FIR with the Cyber Cell of Delhi Police in connection with over 50 cases of fraudulent withdrawal of money from State Bank of India (SBI) accounts of its air force officers posted across India. Investigators are probing the role of some insiders and are planning to grill SBI officials and also IAF personnel.

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A senior police officer said the IAF had shifted bulk of its officers' bank accounts to the SBI in 2009-10 and most of the affected customers are from Defence Salary Package, a large number of them from the Air Force. The case was registered on Wednesday evening following the complaint of the Commanding Officer of IAF's Provost and Security Unit, Wing Commander Tejveer Singh. "We came to know that our Air Force officials had lodged complaints with the local police," said Singh.

IAF officials said the step was taken after it emerged that more than 40 such cases had taken place after the accounts of IAF officers were opened with the bank. "The police have found that transactions have been made on two websites of online shopping - Target Canada and American Apparel Montreal Canada. The transactions have taken place from June 22 but have gone up in the second week of July. The transaction amount varies from Rs 11,000 to Rs 3,75, 000," a police source said.

Preliminary investigation has also revealed that the victims are mostly gold card users and they are Flying Officer, Flight Lieutenant and Squadron Lead.