The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against 15 Paytm customers for reportedly hacking the digital wallet of Rs. 6.15 lakh. According to CBI spokesperson Devpreet Singh, the agency has filed a criminal case as per a complaint received from One97 Communications, under which Paytm is running its online business.
The core point to note is that these 15 persons who originally purchased products from the Paytm shopping portal also got refunded. In this case, you need to note that refunds were made to customers who got successful delivery of products.
According to Paytm, the generation of refunds after delivery of product caused a huge loss of Rs. 6.15 lakh to the company. The agency further added that the case was registered on various charges related to criminal conspiracy, forgery and under other relevant provisions of the Information Technology (IT) Act. The case was filed against 15 people who entered into the system touting as Paytm customers.
Meanwhile, the top investigation agency declined to reveal whether any case was registered against any official of Paytm or its parent company. They only revealed that the investigation is in full swing and details can’t be revealed at this current juncture.
Normally, CBI will not register a case against anyone till the respective state or central government issues an order regarding the malpractice. However, the agency said that they have adequate powers to register cases under IT Act in the Delhi even against private persons. “We have been doing it since 2000”, says CBI. Moreover, we had filed cases for Flipkart, Snapdeal, Google, and Microsoft on the basis of a complaint from individuals.
As of November 21, Paytm has a total user base of 150 million. Out of this, over five million were added after Prime Minister Narendra Modi demonetized currencies on November 8.
