Chandigarh resident loses ₹1.50 lakh in debit card swap fraud

The victim was offered help by two men at a Punjab National Bank ATM when the machine was not functioning properly

Two unidentified men withdrew ₹1.50 lakh from a Sector-41 resident’s bank account after swapping his debit card at an ATM kiosk, police said on Saturday.

On returning home from the ATM, Parshuram realised that his debit card was swapped and ₹1.50 lakh were fraudulently withdrawn from his account. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The victim, Parshuram, 52, told the police that he worked as a waiter. Recently, he visited a Punjab National Bank ATM to withdraw money, but the machine was not functioning properly. Meanwhile, two men standing behind him offered to help him. But they also failed to withdraw the cash and handed his debit card back to him.

On returning home, Parshuram realised that his debit card was swapped and ₹1.50 lakh were fraudulently withdrawn from his account. Acting on his complaint, police registered a case under Sections 379 (theft) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code at the Sector-39 police station on Friday. Further probe is underway to arrest the accused.