Cyber criminals target two women in Gurugram to gain new bank accounts

Between October 14 and 25, transactions to the tune of ₹20-30 lakh were made in the two women’s accounts, police officers said

On October 7, Pooja, 44, and her aunt Manju, 53, who each live in a village in Gurugram district, opened two accounts in a private bank in Manesar with an initial deposit of ₹5,000.

The women informed the police on October 26, following which an investigation was launched. (Representational image)

However, over the following weeks, the bank manager was alarmed as lakhs of rupees were transferred into the two accounts -- unexpected based on the women’s socioeconomic background and employment history. Between October 14 and 25, transactions to the tune of ₹20-30 lakh were made in the two women’s accounts, police officers aware of the matter said on Thursday.

Bank officials summoned Pooka and Manju, who go by a single name, for questioning, and found that they were clueless about the transactions. The women said that they opened the accounts because they were told to by the employees of a private hospital where they were attempting to secure a job. After they opened the accounts, the hospital employees took the debit cards, passbooks, and SIM cards associated with the two bank accounts from them, the women told bank officials.

The women informed the police on October 26, following which an investigation was launched.

Pooja, a resident of Sohna who worked at an automobile spare parts manufacturing firm in Nuh, told the police that she was looking for a new job, and a colleague put her in touch with a woman working at the private hospital in Gurugram’s Sector 37. Manju, on the other hand, was unemployed.

“The woman took photocopies of my matriculation marksheet, Aadhaar card, photos, and ₹200 for filling a registration form. She told me I needed to open a new bank account to receive my salary. She made me speak on the phone to her superior, who told me there was a staff shortage and asked me to bring more women to the hospital. So, I roped in my aunt,” Pooja told the police.

Pooja said her aunt lived in Manesar, so they opened the salary accounts in a private bank there.

According to the police, the supervisor who spoke on the phone met the women in Manesar on October 13, and took their debit and SIM cards, and asked them to come to the hospital the next day for appointment letters.

Inspector Sahid Ahmed, station house officer of the Cybercrime (south) police station, said the two visited the hospital several times till October 25 but did not get appointment letters, following which a hospital employee told them that her senior died in a road accident and the recruitment process was on hold.

“In the meantime, the bank manager got suspicious after spotting the heavy transactions taking place in the accounts,” SHO Ahmed said, adding they have asked the bank to provide the transaction details.

Based on Pooja’s complaint, a first information report was registered against unidentified hospital employees at Cybercrime (south) police station on Wednesday under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.