A 48-year-old man from Bhiwandi became the latest victim of cyber crime when fraudsters duped him to the tune of Rs 1.33 lakh. The fraudsters, posing as bank officials, somehow took control of his account and transferred the money to other accounts in Vasai, Nerul and Nagpur.
On Sunday evening, a person posing as a bank official called Ramprasad Holani, a resident of Ajay Nagaar in Bhiwandi and said that he was calling from the bank's credit card department. On True Caller as well, the bank's logo and its name showed up, said Holani
The caller told him that they have issued a credit card that will soon reach his residence. Holani told them that he had never applied for a credit card and questioned how the bank was working on a Sunday. The call then got disconnected. Thereafter, he received several calls from similar numbers; however, he did not answer them.
Sensing something was amiss, Holani immediately changed his pin and password; however, his worst nightmare came true when he started receiving transaction messages. Rs 1.33 lakh was transferred from his account in four transactions until he could block his card. “The fraudster almost emptied my account leaving only Rs 400. Out of that also, the bank deducted Rs 250 as penalty,” added Holani.
"When I approached the bank, I realised that beneficiaries had been added to my account in order to transfer the money. The money was transferred to accounts in Vasai, Nerul and Nagpur. However, I have never used online banking. I didn’t share my details to anyone, nor do I know what beneficiaries are and how to add them," said Holani.
Besides raising the issue with the bank, Holani has also lodged a complaint with Nizampura police station in Bhiwandi.
