Financial Frauds and Cyber Crime in the Digital Money Doman is a common occurrence in India today. As informed in the Indian Parliament, losses due to cyber crime, which is frauds related to ATM/Debit Card, Credit Card and Internet Banking, based on the date of reported by public and private banks; has increased to Rs 63.40 crore in FY20-21 from Rs 58.61 crore in FY19-20. Financial cybercrime includes activities such as stealing payment card information, gaining access to financial accounts in order to initiate unauthorised transactions, extortion, identity fraud in order to apply for financial products, and so on.
Cyber Insurance as a concept has been in existence in the third world countries from over two decades, yet, India had not yet caught up to the global trend. However, in India attacks continue to get sophisticated, and regulatory environment is yet evolving around data and privacy; which then provides the need for having a better and holistic risk management strategy. In India the subscription to ‘Cyber Insurance’ is more seen to be a buzz word among enterprises and MNC. The small retail and individuals subscribing to ‘Cyber Insurance’ is still a far dream. Certainly, ‘Cyber Insurance’ will help mitigate risk exposure by offsetting costs after a breach/loss and its subscription will surely help in minimising loss and accruing benefits to the claimant.
The Indian Insurance industry is ready with products and are also in the process of selling the same to prospective customers. It is also seen that the Indian Insurance Sellers, have catered for a vide range of customisation of their product to lure the customers to subscribe to ‘Cyber Insurance’.
Paytm Offering Cyber Insurance
In a first of a kind, ‘Paytm’ has announced the offering to its customers, protection against cyber fraud through an insurance policy available for fraudulent mobile transactions up to Rs 10,000 for a premium of Rs 30. The product has been launched in collaboration with ‘HDFC Ergo’ and is called ‘Paytm Payment Protect’ and is provided through a group insurance policy.
The insurance cover, protects transactions made through UPI across all apps and wallets. Paytm/ One97 Communications, said that the plan is being offered to increase the trust in digital payments, which will push up adoption. “We are offering an insurance cover with convenient claims with a vision to safeguard users and fight cybercrimes,” said Bhavesh Gupta, CEO of lending and head of payments at Paytm.
To avail this option, users can search for the ‘Payment Protect’ option on the Paytm app. Thereafter, they can enter their name, mobile number and tap on the ‘Proceed to Pay’ button. They can also visit the HDFC ERGO website for a detailed run-through of the policies, terms and conditions, and more.