No OTP, Yet ₹ 2.93 Lakh Withdrawn From Patwari’s Account In Ratlam

Ratlam (Madhya Pradesh): Cybercriminals allegedly withdrew Rs 2.93 lakh from the bank account of a Patwari in Ratlam over three consecutive days without making any phone call, seeking an OTP or directly contacting him.

Patwari named Ashok Kumar Yogi, a resident of Katju Nagar, had withdrawn Rs five lakh from his General Provident Fund account in March and deposited the amount in his State Bank of India Collectorate branch account.

According to police, cybercriminals withdrew Rs 98,000 on April 27, Rs 97,001 on April 28 and Rs 98,000 on April 29 through three separate transactions. Yogi remained unaware of the withdrawals until April 30, when he checked his bank balance and discovered the missing amount.

He immediately lodged a complaint on cyber helpline 1930 and informed police. Yogi said he had neither received any suspicious calls nor shared OTPs or banking details with anyone.

The Industrial Area Police Station has registered an FIR and launched an investigation with the assistance of cyber experts.

Cyber security expert Dr Rahul Mehta, CEO of Parshvtech, said cybercriminals were no longer relying only on phone calls or OTP fraud. He said they now use mobile malware, remote access applications and SIM cloning techniques to gain silent access to banking systems.

Former bank manager Himmat Gelda said banks should implement AI-based fraud detection systems that automatically raise alerts when multiple high-value transactions are made from a single account.