Another SBI ATM tampered with, Pimpri Chinchwad man loses Rs 1.24 lakh after he contacts ‘helpline number’

“The person who received the call asked him to enter his debit card PIN and also sought details of his bank account. But then, after some time, an amount of Rs 1,24,500 was deducted from his bank account,” the First Information Report said.

Investigation officer Sachin Shirke said the complainant’s money was transferred to fraudulent bank accounts without his knowledge and consent, through multiple online transactions, sometime after he left the ATM center.

After the bank authorities failed to respond to his complaint, the man took up the matter with the Kalewadi police station on Thursday.

The police have registered a case under Section 318 (4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and sections of the Information Technology (IT) Act.

Shirke said a probe was on to identify and arrest the fraudsters.

In a similar case, at least two women lost their money worth thousands of rupees after making calls on a fraudulent helpline number displayed at an ATM kiosk of SBI in Wadgaon Dhayari.

One of the victims lodged a complaint at the Nanded City police station on Wednesday. As per the FIR, the complainant woman came to the ATM center near Sai Puram Society in Wadgaon Dhayari around 10.20 pm on April 18 to withdraw money.

But after her ATM card got stuck inside the ATM, she contacted the ‘helpline number’ and the fraudster who answered the call told her that he could not come to the spot as it was a holiday on the occasion of Good Friday. The fraudster then asked her to enter the ATM card PIN in the machine and also took her bank details. But, within some time, Rs 50,000 was deducted from her bank account. Another woman also lost Rs 40,000 at the same ATM center, the police said.

The police suspect that fraudsters have tampered with some ATMs and put the wrong helpline number inside the kiosks to deceive people who come to withdraw money.

The police have appealed to banks to ensure that proper helpline numbers are displayed at the ATM centers. They have also asked the public to be cautious and not to share bank account details and ATM card PIN with anyone.