Ggm: Banker detects fraud, saves client from ₹6.5cr scam

Investigators said that the manager got to know that the SBI account was dormant, and alerted police.

A relationship manager of a private bank helped avert a cyber fraud of ₹6.5 crore by contacting the police after spotting an unusual transaction on one of his customers’ account , said police on Friday.

Ggm: Banker detects fraud, saves client from ₹6.5cr scam

According to police, Meet Sabharwal, posted at the Galleria branch of the bank near Sector 43, sought help of his seniors to contact officials of two other banks to put ₹64 lakh on hold which were transacted by the victim earlier this month.

Gurugram police commissioner Vikas Kumar Arora felicitated him on Friday.

“We urge the bankers to verify hefty transactions like Sabharwal did to tackle cyber fraud,” Arora said.

Priyanshu Dewan, ACP (cybercrime), said that Sabharwal had tried to contact the customer on November 13 after spotting two transactions amounting to ₹64 lakh but he didn’t respond out of fear of the cyber criminals who had impersonated officials from Mumbai Police and CBI to put him under digital arrest.

“Sabharwal tried to contact neighbours to inquire about his well being. However, when he got to know that the customer was not communicating with anyone for a couple of days, he alerted the police following which investigators approached the victim to find that he and his wife were actually duped by cyber criminals,” he said.

Investigators said that suspects impersonating police officials had contacted the victim and threatened him that his Aadhaar, PAN and phone numbers were misused in money laundering due to which he was put under digital arrest.

Police said, the victim transferred ₹20 lakh into a dormant SBI account in Jamshedpur and ₹44 lakh to the bank’s Bandra branch in Mumbai on November 11 and November 12.

“The victim also withdrew ₹5.9 crore of mutual fund investment which were to be transferred into the accounts provided by the suspects,” a senior police official said.

Investigators said that the manager got to know that the SBI account was dormant, and alerted police.

On the complaint of the victim, an FIR for cheating and impersonation was registered at the Cybercrime police station (east) on November 18. Police said investigation was on to trace all the suspects and arrest them and recover the money which was transacted into two bank accounts.