It has come to the notice of Reserve Bank of India that many people in the north eastern states and Jharkhand have fallen prey to the numerous phishing SMS and emails and ended up losing large amounts of money.

Phishing is a type of internet scam wherein the scammer sends fraudulous SMS and emails to people in the name of banks and even RBI promising them huge sums of money.

The RBI has thus decided to intervene into the matter and bring and end to such problems. The banking regulator has directed banks in these states to be extra careful regarding dubious transactions.

With the intensity of such crimes increasing rapidly, it is largely seen that checking cyber crime is the need of the hour.

RBI's regional director Surekha Marandi said that such problems are on a rise in the north east as people there reside in remote areas and can thus easily be fooled. "These were from Assam, Nagaland and Mizoram. In one case, a person was duped of Rs 2.2 lakh and in another Rs 1.4 lakh," she said.

RBI general manager (Jharkhand circle) H N Panda said: "Such incidents have started pouring in. The RBI has received complaints of fraudulent communications via email or SMS relating to fictitious offers, lottery results and foreign currency remittances and employment to scholarship offers being perpetrated by some mischievous elements."