Bangalore: Banking via the Internet is handy for many business executives and professionals constantly on the move. You can operate your bank account, see statements, make payment or even stop payment, all at the click of a mouse.

So can hackers, it now appears. While the most recent incident that made headlines because of the amounts included, concerned accounts held overseas, Indians operating their accounts here are no less vulnerable, say both bankers and the police. Those most at risk are bank customers frequently carrying out large transactions online, booking airline tickets and making purchases, where their credit card details have to be included.

"Though banks' data systems have `firewalls' that are supposed to stop any unauthorised person from accessing information, a skilled hacker can manage get over them,'' say some knowledgeable police personnel.

There was a recent case here where a bank's customer received an SMS informing him that Rs. 60,000 had been transferred from her account to another in Hyderabad; she was not even aware of the existence of such an account.

As in such cases, that account had been closed by the time the bank and its customer could react.

While the public need not be afraid of online banking which had benefits in terms of time and travel to physical branches, they have to be extremely careful, according to bankers and police. "Even while using an ATM, the customers need to make sure that he has pressed the `cancel' button after transacting and withdrawing the cash. Getting a statement and saving it till the next physical statement arrives is wise,'' they say. The Personal Identification Number (PIN) need not be divulged to anyone, including those at the bank. For transactions requiring the PIN, all the customer needs to do is to punch in the correct sequence of numbers on the phone. No bank staff will ever ask for the PIN to be given orally. An unscrupulous person pretending to be a bank executive can.

The police are worried that it is easy enough for a potential hacker to open a bank account and then having funds clandestinely transferred.

As in the Bangalore incident, there may be both hackers and insiders willing to help them, at a price.

While customers can take precautions such as changing their bank passwords periodically, banks on their part have to frequently review and tighten their security systems, the police say.

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